For the 15th time, formator Bart De Wever (N-VA) will head to the Royal Palace on Tuesday to give Belgium's King Philippe the latest state of play on the Federal Government formation.
211 days after the 9 June elections, Belgium still does not have a Federal Government. In the new year, the negotiators of the 'Arizona' parties – right-wing N-VA, liberals MR, centrists Les Engagés, socialists Vooruit and Christian Democrats CD&V – have been discussing the labour market and taxation.
Since last week, the party leaders have been negotiating at a faster pace with the aim of landing a coalition agreement by the end of January. A first important deadline is Tuesday, when De Wever is expected back at the Royal Palace.
De Wever wanted to meet the King with enough progress booked to ask for one final extension of his assignment as formator. In its earlier communication, the Palace also insisted on this, saying that the King hoped for a "decisive breakthrough" at the start of the new year.
End of January?
According to insiders, talks have been "constructive" in recent days, but a partial agreement by Tuesday is "practically impossible," Belga News Agency reports. Negotiations on the labour market should conclude on Monday.
Taxation will then be on the table. Regarding this, the main topic of discussion will be finding an agreement on the contribution of the most wealthy. Socialist party Vooruit is insisting on this, but liberal party MR has previously opposed it. After taxation, the topic of pensions should also be discussed.
While some negotiators put forward the date of 9 January (on the first plenary session of the Parliament of the new year) before Christmas, a more cautious timeframe was set for "the end of January". The party leaders are meeting again on Tuesday from 10:00 to further discuss the tax reforms. On Wednesday, they could possibly start on the pensions section.
De Wever is expected at the Palace at 16:00.
