Federal Government Formateur Bart De Wever (N-VA) and the party leaders of the proposed Arizona coalition aim to establish a Federal Government by the end of January.
De Wever and the leaders of the other four parties that form the new government – MR, Les Engagés, Vooruit, and CD&V – provided an update on the socio-economic negotiations on Sunday evening.
De Wever held bilateral talks with the other party leaders, Conner Rousseau (Vooruit), Georges-Louis Bouchez (MR), Maxime Prévot (Les Engagés), and Sammy Mahdi (CD&V), at the N-VA headquarters on Saturday. Negotiators reconvened for a short plenary meeting at around 16:00 on Sunday, which lasted longer than expected.
Afterwards, they confirmed that the leaders had agreed to speed up the process to have an Arizona government in place by the end of January, over seven months after the elections on 13 June.
This marks the first time that a clear timeframe has been set. In the coming days, an intensive schedule will be worked out so party leaders can restart discussions on 2 January.
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De Wever will report on the progress to King Philippe on 7 January. Following their last meeting, the King said he "hopes for a decisive breakthrough at the start of 2025." If enough progress is made, De Wever will ask for an extension of his mandate as formator.
Initially, the negotiators aimed for a government by the end of the year but this deadline became unrealistic. The main point of tension remains De Wever’s socio-economic reform note and the amendments submitted by the potential coalition partners.
