The first attempt to form Belgium's next Federal Government has failed and the King accepted Bart De Wever's (N-VA) resignation as formator on Thursday evening. A new round of Royal consultations is now starting on Friday.
On Thursday afternoon, De Wever sent a WhatsApp message to notify the party leaders of his envisaged coalition (CD&V, Vooruit, MR and Les Engagés, in addition to De Wever's own N-VA) that he would throw in the towel. He then met with King Philippe to formally resign.
De Wever and the King spoke for over an hour and a half, after which the Royal Palace announced that Philippe would start a new round of consultations with the leaders of the parties involved in the failed formation attempt.
In a press statement afterwards, De Wever said he "remains convinced of the need for a recovery and reform government to restore Flemish prosperity and avoid European sanctions over the federal budget situation." This had been made clear in his "super note" (which outlines the government's budgetary priorities).
Leaving the door open
In the statement, De Wever did not criticise the other parties for the failed formation mission – leading analysts to believe that the N-VA leader is not yet ready to completely close the door on this coalition. "He also wishes to explicitly thank the other parties and all staff for their hard work."
As no alternative for this five-party coalition is immediately viable, expectations are that the King will try to find a way around the current blockade rather than go back to square one. Through his consultations with all five party leaders, he will likely try to identify who could close the wide gap between Francophone liberal MR and Flemish socialist Vooruit.
De Wever's ambition was to have the Federal Government's basic coalition agreement ready by 20 September – the date by which the European Commission expects clarity on the Belgian budgetary plans. This would also mean the formation would be mostly settled by the time municipal elections are held on 13 October.
On Friday, leader of the Flemish centrists CD&V Sammy Mahdi was the first party leader to see the King at 09:30. He will be followed by MR's Georges-Louis Bouchez, Vooruit's Conner Rousseau, Les Engagés' Maxime Prévot and, again, N-VA's De Wever.
The Royal Palace is not communicating exact timings for the various meetings.
