Day 227 with no Belgian Government: One more week to meet King's deadline

Day 227 with no Belgian Government: One more week to meet King's deadline
King Philippe pictured after a meeting with N-VA leader De Wever. Credit: Belga/Benoit Doppagne

With just one week to go for the five 'Arizona' party negotiators to reach a coalition agreement, the road to Belgium's next Federal Government appears to still be quite long.

On Wednesday evening, the plans with which formator Bart De Wever (N-VA) hopes to forge a new government with Flemish right-wing N-VA, socialists Vooruit, Christian Democrats CD&V, Francophone liberals MR and centrists Les Engagés were leaked. This made it clear that Vooruit and CD&V are not yet "ready for landing", as De Wever had said last week.

A first meeting to discuss De Wever's socio-economic 'supernote' – which contains proposals for reforms to pensions, the labour market and taxes – was held last Sunday. But discussions were limited to bilateral talks between De Wever and the party leaders. Since then, the text has not been negotiated with all five parties at the table.

A new round of bilateral talks is taking place on Friday. If everything goes to plan, these one-on-one talks will transition to discussions with all negotiators later in the day. Further negotiations are planned during the weekend.

Difficult negotiations ahead

Several proposals in De Wever's latest supernote were not well received by Vooruit, Les Engagés and CD&V – complicating the negotiations. Furthermore, some of them were leaked to the press, triggering strong criticism from the opposition parties. Trade unions also weighed in, saying that the current document will likely lead to a "mass demonstration", planned on 13 February.

Meanwhile, the Flemish socialists Vooruit are unhappy about the return of a net tax reduction in the plans. Vooruit fears that this will be funded through pension reforms, which will already be substantial. The party feels that its leader Conner Rousseau has already made considerable concessions but has not been rewarded by De Wever's latest proposals. As a result, the negotiations this weekend are expected to be very difficult.

On Tuesday, the taxation section of the new supernote leaked in the Flemish press. This showed that the rate of the capital gains tax on shares – a demand from Vooruit – has been reduced from 10% to 5%, although the exemption would also be reduced from €10,000 to €6,000.

N-VA leader Bart De Wever, King Philippe of Belgium and pictured before a meeting at the Royal Palace, Tuesday 07 January 2025 in Brussels. Credit: Belga / Eric Lalmand

Other minor elements were also leaked last week, including the possibility of building a train station for Charleroi Airport.

At the start of the month, De Wever assured the King that he was "aiming the finalise the agreement by the end of the month." Whether that will be possible largely depends on the progress made this weekend.

227 days after the 9 June elections, Belgium still does not have a Federal Government.

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