Prime Minister Alexander De Croo described Bart De Wever's proposal for the N-VA and PS will go into government together after next year's election as "madness".
He spoke out against the idea while addressing members of his party at a meeting on Sunday. The Flemish liberal party Open VLD had been gathering in Ghent this weekend to detail their programme for the coming years.
Among the topics discussed was the N-VA's recent proposal for a "mini-government" to be formed between the largest party from each community: them and the French-speaking centre-left party PS.
"N-VA and PS together at the table? That is exactly what Einstein called madness," De Croo told party members on Sunday, "always doing the same thing over and over again, but hoping for a different result.”
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The Prime Minister then warned party members of a new period of political gridlock, stagnation and decline which "us liberals need to break". He then called for his liberal party not to be "pushed away by extremists, communists, nationalists and separatists, but fight for the values we hold dear: freedom and a fair chance for all," De Croo stated.
The Prime Minister concluded that "we must go against the current of negativity" and "dare to go more against the divisive logic of the separatists."
The party meeting also saw the Flemish liberals agree to get rid of the nuclear exit law if in power and maintain a €500 differential between those who work and those who don't. The party leader Egbert Lachaert also stated that Open VLD must put people "and not multinationals" back at the centre of their programme.