Despite the Christmas deadline just around the corner, the political parties trying to form Belgium's next Federal Government took a break on Wednesday. Today, in-depth negotiations on the topics of work, pensions and taxation will start again.
After King Philippe on Tuesday again extended formator Bart De Wever's (N-VA) assignment, the party leaders of the envisaged 'Arizona' coalition agreed on a new working method. De Wever is stepping away from his "immovable framework" and the budget table, to first settle talks on divisive socio-economic issues.
This is a slight win for the centre-left parties in the formation (socialists Vooruit, Christian democrats CD&V and centrists Les Engagés). They pushed back on De Wever's intention to first force an agreement on the budgetary framework, only to hammer out the details about the necessary reforms afterwards.
At the same time, the budget table will not be completely abandoned as the planned thematic meetings must eventually lead to a new budgetary framework.
'Going in circles'
In response to recent criticism of the formator's method, MR leader Georges-Louis Bouchez said that the only option for him is a government headed by De Wever as Prime Minister.
"But some negotiators have already forgotten the signal of centre-right reforms that the voters sent us," Bouchez said on RTBF radio on Wednesday. "We are going in circles. It takes courage to decide on reforms that will not initially go down well with everyone, but are necessary in the country's interest. I do not have the impression that everyone understands that."
Bouchez stressed that he was not only talking about Vooruit leader president Conner Rousseau, and that he was "not targeting him personally."
He also reiterated that, in itself, his party is not opposed to the most wealthy contributing to the fiscal effort needed to get Belgium's budget back on track, but added that the overall tax burden must drop and "investors, entrepreneurs and working people must not be penalised."
De Wever is expected back at the Palace on 20 December for a state-of-play report.
