According to Bart De Wever, leader of the Flemish rightwing N-VA party and mayor of Antwerp, forming a Federal Government for Belgium will not be possible after the 2024 elections.
His remarks came on the Flemish Holiday on Monday, following comments by the leader of the far-right Vlaams Belang party Tom Van Grieken, who stated that confederalism is "the greatest political lie of the last ten years."
De Wever, however, believes that confederalism – which would see Flanders and Wallonia both become independent sovereign states, cooperating as an administrative unit – is "the only answer."
He explained that Flanders and Wallonia are too different, as the former voted overwhelmingly to the right during the 2019 elections, while the latter voted mainly for leftist parties.
"Now, Wallonia will be more leftist than ever, with even a communist party that might reach 20%,” De Wever said. “The sum [of getting a majority while excluding the extremist parties] is then no longer possible and there is no alternative. It will not be possible to form a government."
Belgium's previous government formation process made headlines worldwide, as the country broke its own standing record for the longest period without an elected government: the new government was announced 652 days after the previous one collapsed in December 2018.
If De Wever is to be believed, the next federal elections in 2024 might see that record broken once again.
What do you think? Has Belgium learned from its mistakes? Let @Maajtee know.
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