Negotiators for the formation of a French-speaking majority in Brussels, comprising the Mouvement Réformateur (MR), Parti Socialiste (PS) and Les Engagés, say they have reached agreement on postponing by two years the next phase of the low-emission zone (LEZ) initiative in Brussels.
However, the announcement, made over the weekend, has angered Dutch-speaking formateur Elke Van den Brandt (Groen) and was also criticised by the Nieuw Vlaamse Alliantie (N-VA) leader in Brussels, Cieltje Van Achter.
On Tuesday the three Francophone parties showed little understanding for the outrage expressed by the Flemish greens and conservatives, arguing that time was running out for the public. "We're taking up our responsibilities," they retorted.
No question of going it alone
The disagreement could speed up the formation of a Dutch-speaking majority, according to Fouad Ahidar, a former member of Vooruit.brussels who went on to form Team Ahidar, the second largest Dutch-language group in the Brussels Parliament.
Francophone formateur David Leisterh of the liberal MR party tried to calm things down. "It's out of the question to want to go it alone without the Dutch-speakers," he said. "But since there is still no opportunity for concrete discussion" with a Dutch-speaking interlocutor, "parliament is gradually reclaiming its rights; and there are some urgent issues that need to be resolved as quickly as possible."
These include Renolution (energy and renovation) premiums and the postponement of the new phase of the LEZ, scheduled for early 2025, he said.
'Held hostage by paralysis'
"With four months to go, the people of Brussels need to know whether or not they need to make a very heavy financial investment," and replace their excessively polluting cars, Liesterh said. "You cannot tell them three weeks before Christmas,’ he added.
Ahmed Laaouej (PS) agreed. ‘We're being held hostage today by the paralysis on the Dutch-speaking side,’ he worried, "but we cannot put Parliament out of work either."
"Parliament meets next week and will start debating a whole series of issues, so we cannot pretend that we don't exist politically," the PS parliamentarian added. "People are waiting, there are social needs."
Formateur still looking for a fourth Dutch-language party
Moreover, even before the election campaign, a "large majority in parliament" supported a two-year postponement of the new phase of LEZ initiative. ‘This is a social measure, not the end of an ambitious environmental policy," he noted.
On the Dutch-speaking side, the difficulty remains the same: Elke Van den Brandt (Groen) needs a fourth party to form a Dutch-speaking majority with Open Vld and Vooruit, but the Christen Democratisch en Vlaams (CD&V) is reluctant, while Team Fouad Ahidar is having a chilling effect on the other partners.
Ahidar said on Tuesday that he was still in regular contact with Van den Brandt. He believes the hiccup over the LEZ could help unblock the situation. ‘Maybe it will encourage the Dutch-speaking community to form their own framework, without worrying about what Mr Laaouej or Mr Leisterh think," he noted.
All eyes on the N-VA
In any event, Ahidar said he was prepared to support the texts of a minority Dutch-speaking coalition in parliament, if they are "in the interests of the people of Brussels."
"On the other hand, I won't help out just to get government ministers appointed," he said.
All eyes are on the N-VA, which could be the indispensable fourth partner, but Cieltje Van Achter declined to reveal anything about the discussions on Tuesday.
"It is important to have a Brussels government with a majority on the Dutch-speaking side as soon as possible, but given the difficulties, I do not wish to comment," Van Achter said. "The formation of the government is too important."
