Melissa Depraetere, the leader of the Dutch-speaking socialists Vooruit has blasted the leader of the French-speaking liberalists MR, Georges-Louis Bouchez, once again highlighting that forming a coalition on a federal level may prove complex.
Depraetere reiterated in an interview with De Tijd that Vooruit is not prepared to "blindly" join a Federal Government composed of Dutch-speaking separatists N-VA, the Dutch- and French-speaking Christian Democrates CD&V and Les Engagés, and MR, arguing their election programmes vehemently oppose the values her party holds.
"We observe that the parties looking to collaborate have election programmes diametrically opposed to ours," she said. "The N-VA and the MR want to save billions on healthcare. We do not want that," Depraetere added.
In contrast, Vooruit seeks to significantly increase minimum wages, a pledge missing from all other party agendas. "We are open to dialogue, but realising a successful outcome will be exceedingly difficult," she said.
Depraetere acknowledged that Vooruit's concerns weren’t just about policy differences but about the reliability of certain individuals. "Without mincing words, MR chair Georges-Louis Bouchez is utterly untrustworthy. It’s common knowledge," she said. "Bouchez spent his four-year term actively opposing his own government, and to his credit, he thrived. It does not bode well for the next team."
She proposed he would be better suited to become Minister-President of Wallonia. "That’ll be a relief for us, and he won’t even need to learn Dutch."
Earlier this week, Bouchez was criticised by other Dutch-speaking politicians, including Mobility Minister Elke Van den Brandt, the leader of the largest Dutch-speaking party (Groen), for his attacks on the Brussels Good Move plan, despite him not being based in the capital. "Georges-Louis Bouchez is from Mons. He must form a Walloon Government, not involve himself in the Brussels formation talks," she said.
Coalition puzzles
As expected, the King appointed N-VA leader and election winner Bart De Wever as the so-called "informator". He has been "entrusted with a fact-finding mission" to identify the parties wishing to rapidly form a stable coalition at the federal level and to identify its main political orientations.
Vooruit would be necessary to gain a majority on the federal level unless the Dutch-speaking liberal party Open VLD comes back on its decision not to join any government. Adding Open VLD's seven seats would allow N-VA, CD&V, Les Engagés, and MR to form a government with a majority without having to include Vooruit.
However, Vooruit is needed for a majority on the Flemish level, meaning it is unlikely De Wever will exclude the socialists. Here too, the Flemish socialists have been vocal about their demands. After a first meeting to form a Flemish Government, Depraetere reiterated the party would need a "starting note" to signal that the next government would be different and more social than the previous one.
