David Leisterh, the leader of the Brussels Reformist Movement (MR), issued an ultimatum to the Flemish political parties in the capital region on Monday, warning that if they fail to form a majority within two weeks, the MR, Les Engagés, and the Socialist Party (PS) will begin negotiating a government agreement on their own.
To entice a fourth Flemish partner to join the majority, which is numerically necessary to secure at least 9 of the 17 seats allocated to Flemish parties in the Brussels Parliament, Leisterh is considering expanding the government commissioner’s mandate to include budget control.
In recent weeks, Leisterh has met repeatedly with Elke Van den Brandt (Groen), Ans Persoons (Vooruit), and Sven Gatz (Open VLD) in an effort to form a Flemish majority to ensure the Brussels government’s proper functioning. So far, the N-VA and CD&V have not been directly involved in the talks.
Leisterh indicated on the multimedia platform BX1 that he would meet again with these three leaders later in the day.
To persuade a fourth Flemish partner, Leisterh – who is a candidate to become the next Brussels Minister-President – is contemplating extending the mandate of the Brussels government commissioner for European and international relations to include budget control. This position is currently held by Alain Hutchinson (PS), who is stepping down.
Breaking the deadlock
According to Leisterh, Elke Van den Brandt (Groen) has shown a constructive attitude in meetings with the Open VLD and Vooruit. The N-VA is more inclined to join the coalition than the CD&V.
Until more clarity is achieved, the three anticipated Francophone government partners will start discussions for a majority agreement within the French Community Commission.
Van den Brandt acknowledged on Monday afternoon that Groen and the MR have been working together for three weeks to rebuild trust between their parties. This trust was significantly weakened during the municipal campaign due to the three Francophone parties’ initiative to delay the next phase of low-emission zone restrictions and MR’s threat to use the Parliament to heavily revise the Good Move mobility plan.
“The discussions so far have been rather constructive, but there’s still work to be done,” said Van den Brandt.
Meanwhile, N-VA’s Cieltje Van Achter – the Flemish Minister in charge of Brussels affairs – reiterated that she has for weeks been advocating a Flemish majority to help Brussels face its significant challenges. She said that she is in discussion with all relevant parties. “It’s by talking and sitting around the table that trust can be built to get out of this deadlock,” she commented.
