The Francophone Socialist Party (PS) will "never" form a government with Flemish right-wing nationalists N-VA, said Brussels MP and vice-chair of PS' Brussels branch Martin Casier on Wednesday.
The statements come as the formation of the Brussels Government remains blocked. For Casier, N-VA's election result is the main problem, as the party represents less than 2% of Brussels residents. "The party is the big loser of the regional elections. There are other solutions," he said.
The Brussels formation has been deadlocked for months, with PS's veto against N-VA being one of the biggest stumbling blocks.
On the Dutch-speaking side, Groen, Vooruit, Open VLD and N-VA have linked their fates to each other, but the French-speaking socialists (who, together with MR and Les Engagés, are part of the French-speaking majority) do not want to join forces with N-VA.
'Never'
Earlier, the Brussels PS mainly pointed to the positions of N-VA. Especially the provocative statements by leading figure (and now Defence Minister) Theo Francken were a thorn in the party's side. But now, Casier mentions another problem: the Flemish nationalists are too small in Brussels.
"We respect democracy. If they had become the largest, that would have been a different story," he said on Flemish radio. "But working together in Brussels with those results? No, never."
Casier emphasised that Christian Democrats CD&V can and want to help the Dutch-speaking majority. "The N-VA is not needed at the table. We know it will not work, there is no majority for it in the Brussels Parliament."
On 9 June 2024, N-VA won just under 12% of the votes in the Dutch language group – making it the third largest list after Groen and Team Fouad Ahidar. They have two seats in the Brussels Parliament, one fewer than in 2019. CD&V won 6.35% of the Dutch-speaking votes and has to make do with one seat.
N-VA's Cieltje Van Achter. Credit: Belga/Nicolas Maeterlinck
In response, Flemish Minister for Brussels Cieltje Van Achter (N-VA) has reacted angrily to Casier's comments, calling them "ridiculous" and "strange".
"We are the third Dutch-speaking party in Brussels, ahead of the traditional parties," she said. N-VA gained more votes than socialists Vooruit, liberals Open VLD and Christian Democrats CD&V, but also far-right Vlaams Belang and radical left PVDA.
Casier should think more carefully about his words and PS should also urgently "respect the outcome of the elections in Brussels," said Van Achter. "As the third party, N-VA has achieved a good score and has more to say than the eighth party (CD&V)."
Anti-Brussels?
According to Van Achter, the PS veto is based on absolutely nothing. "According to them, we are racist, but I have been in the Brussels Parliament for ten years – I have never said anything racist or anti-Brussels."
She hopes that PS will act more responsibly in the future. "Why do we do politics? To solve things. The budget urgently needs to be in order and difficult matters need to be decided in terms of cleanliness and safety."
In the regional Brussels Parliament, out of 89 members, there are 72 French-speaking regional MPs and 17 Dutch-speaking ones. In last June's election, PS won 16 seats (in second place behind MR) and N-VA won 2.
After eight months, there is still no working government. Under the rules, if MR fail to form a government, PS would then be given an opportunity to form one, but with the current stalemate, it would also be unlikely.
