A series of consultation talks to finally form a Brussels Government starts today. The person leading the discussions, formator David Leisterh (MR), has said he will likely step down from the role if there is no breakthrough.
Almost eight months since the elections on 9 June, Brussels is still without a government. Leisterh has now set a deadline, giving himself two weeks to form a regional government, during which he will be holding "last-chance" conversations with various parties.
"If in two weeks there is nothing, except a breakthrough, I will likely step aside," he told BX1. If his attempt fails, the MR will withdraw from the negotiations and the French-speaking liberals will join the opposition. This also means someone else will have to take over the role of formator on the French-speaking side.
The escalating drug violence in Brussels is putting pressure on the various parties to come to an agreement. The Brussels Chamber of Commerce (BECI) director Thierry Geerts said in a statement to The Brussels Times that the recent incidents are dramatic and come as an enormous blow to businesses.
"The new Federal Government has committed to prioritise national security – including in the capital – but we urgently need a Brussels Government."
Meeting with PS
Leisterh, who is also the mayor of Watermael-Boitsfort, said the difficulty of the situation is not the debating of specific points itself, but the physical act of getting people to agree to sit down with each other.
The French-speaking socialists PS left the negotiating table two months ago following the announcement of the Dutch-speaking majority, including the Flemish right-wing nationalists N-VA. PS said it vetoes N-VA's participation in any Brussels Government, given that N-VA wants to open up sensitive community issues. Since then, the situation has come to a complete standstill.
Leisterh says that he is therefore "starting from scratch". He is open to another Dutch-speaking majority being formed, but also wants to respect "what the Flemish have come up with". The PS reportedly wants to swap N-VA for Flemish Christian Democrats CD&V, but CD&V is demanding a minister.
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This week's consultations started with Dutch-speaking counterpart, formator Elke Van den Brandt, as well as Frédéric De Gucht from Open VLD. Leisterh is then scheduled to meet with CD&V, Vooruit and N-VA on Tuesday.
After meeting all the Dutch-speaking parties, it will be the turn of the French-speaking parties, starting with the PS on Wednesday. The tour de table will end with meetings with Ecolo and DéFi in opposition. Team Fouad Ahidar, far-left PVDA-PTB and far-right Vlaams Belang will not be invited to the talks.
