As formator Bart De Wever (N-VA) did not manage to find an agreement on Belgium's next Federal Government before meeting the King on Friday, his deadline has been extended until 7 January.
De Wever met King Philippe at 11:30 on Friday morning to report on his progress on the government formation. Despite earlier problems between the negotiating partners, the talks seem to have proceeded slightly more calmly this week.
"Formator Bart De Wever reported to the King. He spoke of the progress made but also stressed that the work still needs to continue," the Royal Palace announced. The King "hopes for a decisive breakthrough at the start of 2025."
De Wever is due to report again after the Christmas holidays, on 7 January.
Christmas negotiations?
In the afternoon, De Wever is again assembling the negotiators of the 'Arizona' parties (N-VA, Vooruit, CD&V, MR and Les Engagés parties) for a negotiating session on tax reforms, among other things.
The schedule for the Christmas holidays has not yet been clarified but negotiations are likely to continue over the next two weeks. In principle, the Arizona parties were aiming for a coalition agreement before the end of the year but that seems to have become impossible in the meantime.
From Saturday (194 days after the 9 June elections), this Federal Government formation will be among the top three longest formations ever in Belgium. The country previously broke records in 2010 and again in 2020 for the longest time spent without a government: 541 days and 652 days, respectively.
