N-VA leader and federal formator Bart De Wever reported his progress to King Philippe of Belgium on Monday afternoon. He was given three more days to close a deal on his so-called "super note" in the government negotiations.
De Wever negotiated the third version of his "socio-economic super note" of proposals about reforms on the labour market, pensions and taxation with negotiators from N-VA, MR, Les Engagés, Vooruit and CD&V until late Sunday night. The negotiators parted ways around 04:30 – without an agreement.
The document will be the backbone for reforms and savings that aim to put the Belgian budget in order. By 20 September, Belgium must submit a budget plan to the European Commission on how to save €28 billion to rein in the high budget deficit and public debt.
While socialist Vooruit (the only left-leaning party in an otherwise centre-right coalition) was initially critical of the reforms, their objections have mainly been addressed after a bilateral discussion between Conner Rousseau and De Wever, Belga News Agency reports.
Make or break
The concessions De Wever made to win over the socialist reportedly frustrated the French-speaking liberal party MR. "Now that the time has come to compromise, [MR leader Georges-Louis Bouchez] is falling back into old habits. If this goes on we won't get anywhere," a negotiator told De Morgen.
As a result, De Wever was unable report any major progress to King Philippe on Monday afternoon, though their conversation still lasted over an hour. De Wever will remain as formator and is expected to have another audience at the Royal Palace on Thursday evening.
He now has three more days to work out the Federal Government coalition agreement – not a week, as previously expected. This puts significant pressure on the negotiators.
MR leader Georges-Louis Bouchez arrives for a government formation meeting. Credit: Belga/Nicolas Maeterlinck
"There are still some points to be negotiated. I hope we can find an agreement in the coming week. For us, balance is very important. So we are now looking for that balance," outgoing Federal Deputy PM David Clarinval (MR) told VRT. Sources said the late-night discussion mainly revolved around taxation – in particular a capital gains tax on shares, which liberal Bouchez strongly opposes.
With De Wever's self-imposed deadline of 20 September fast approaching, the coming days of negotiation will be tense. If the negotiators are successful and all five parties approve the "super note", an important milestone will be passed on Thursday night. From thereon, none of the parties will be able to simply sweep the approved document off the table.
But if the parties fail to reach an agreement and this envisaged five-party coalition, there is no immediate alternative.
Should the formation process not be complete by 20 September, the negotiations may be postponed until after the municipal elections on 13 October. And while Francophone socialist PS and Flemish liberal Open VLD are currently not considering government participation after their electoral defeat, they might change their minds depending on how those elections turn out.
