Georges-Louis Bouchez, leader of the Mouvement Réformateur (MR), is pressuring Francophone party DéFI to agree to form a government in Brussels-Capital Region.
“If DéFI agrees, we’ll have a government within a week,” Bouchez said on the VRT’s Villa Politica programme. “If not, Brussels will plunge into a crisis.”
Bouchez ruled out the possibility of forming a government with the Parti Socialiste (PS).
“A majority with the PS is not possible because the party is communitarianist, and does not want budgetary reform or to get the unemployed back to work,” Bouchez claimed. He believes that continuing with the PS would lead to financial ruin for Brussels and worsen the budget deficit.
“It is sometimes better to work with provisional monthly budgets,” the MR leader said, adding: “This is the first time savings have been made in Brussels Region, and the PS is unable to spend money it does not have.”
If DéFI agrees to form a government, progress could be swift, he argued. However, should DéFI decline, they, alongside other parties, would be held accountable for the failure.
Bouchez stressed that a coalition on the Francophone side, comprising MR, Les Engagés, and DéFI, would have a majority in the Brussels Parliament when paired with its Dutch-speaking coalition partners.
