Flemish socialist part Vooruit wants "a signal" from the designated preformateur Bart De Wever (N-VA) before it will start formation talks to join Belgium's next new Federal Government, said candidate party leader Conner Rousseau.
De Wever's preferred coalition would incorporate the rightwing N-VA, centrist CD&V and socialist Vooruit on the Flemish side, and liberal MR and centrist Les Engagés on the Francophone side. However, this would make Vooruit the only leftwing party in an otherwise centre-right government.
"If they are speaking about a centre-right government, then Vooruit has no place in that and they will push us out of that formation," Rousseau said. "We will keep comments to a minimum in front of the cameras. We are constructive but of course we need a signal: What kind of project will [this government] be? We are not joining just for the sake of joining, but to make a difference."
'Knowing what we are getting into'
On Wednesday, De Wever was appointed preformator by King Philippe, signalling that the King recognised that important progress was made but that it was still too early to start the official formation negotiations. The fact that De Wever has not yet formally been appointed formator was mainly because Vooruit – and Les Engagés to a lesser extent – did not think negotiations had sufficiently progressed.
"We only had one conversation of barely two hours," said Rousseau. "That is very little if you want to know what you are getting into. We want to be constructive, we want to reform, we want to strengthen people's purchasing power. But other parties must also articulate that they want to do the same."
Additionally, Rousseau is asking De Wever for a clearer commitment or "signal" that a new Federal Government would demand a greater contribution from the very wealthy to get the budget in order. "If only 'Average Joe' will have to pay that, we will decline."
Vooruit's Conner Rousseau. Credit: Belga/Nicolas Maeterlinck
Vooruit is also seeking guarantees that there will not be cuts or savings in healthcare – something the socialist party has been very vocal about during its election campaign as well as in government negotiations.
While things are running more smoothly on the Flemish level, Rousseau still believes that forming a government by the symbolic date of the Flemish Holiday (11 July) in just two weeks is not feasible.
"People voted down the previous Flemish policy, they voted for a different Flemish policy: warmer, more social, safer, greener," he said. "We now need the time to prepare that other policy. It has to be done as soon as possible, but it also has to be feasible. We are going to work very hard for that."
