Brussels formator David Leisterh (MR) announced that he would begin a series of consultations with all Brussels parties from Monday.
He is hoping to see a positive dynamic emerge to get the Brussels Region out of the political impasse it has been in since the elections last June.
Leisterh is "ready to draw all the necessary conclusions" at the end of these "last chance" negotiations. This process should last two weeks, "or even just one if no positive signal is perceived," he announced on Friday morning.
In a game of cat and mouse, the Brussels political parties are passing the buck to each other to determine who is responsible for the ongoing crisis.
From the beginning of the negotiations, several parties issued vetoes. Francophone and Dutch-speaking liberals MR and Open VLD and Francophone centrists Les Engagés refuse to enter into government with the radical left Belgian Workers' Party (PTB-PVDA) and the newcomers Team Fouad Ahidar (centre-left).
Francophone the Socialist Party (PS) are vetoing the participation of the Flemish right-wing nationalists N-VA in any Brussels government, given N-VA wants to open up sensitive community issues. French-speaking parties Ecolo and DéFI agree with PS, but they are not inclined to join a coalition after their respective electoral defeats.
'Come to the table'
Flemish greens Groen is the "only party that has never formulated a veto, either explicitly or implicitly," said Dutch-speaking formator Elke Van den Brandt. "Anyone who wants to govern must be able to abandon their own position and come to the negotiating table with their programme."
Since December, when the Dutch-speaking parties announced they had found a majority with Groen, Vooruit, Open VLD and N-VA, the deadlock has been total as PS refuses to even come to the table.
Meanwhile, MR and Les Engagés – who had initially established a French-speaking majority with PS – are now blaming the socialists for the stalled negotiations. In turn, however, PS stressed that they have been clear about their stance on N-VA's possible government participation from the start.
MR's David Leisterh (left), Les Engagés' Christophe De Beukelaer (middle) and PS' Ahmed Laaouej (right). Credit: Belga/James Arthur Gekiere
As a result, nearly eight months after the 9 June elections in 2024, a Brussels Government is nowhere near to being formed.
Now, however, in addition to the pressure of Brussels' deteriorating financial and budgetary situation, another layer of urgency has been added. In the last 48 hours, four drug-related shootings took place in the Capital Region, resulting in several injured people and one death.
On Friday afternoon, all political group leaders in Brussels are invited to a meeting for discussions with the new Interior Affairs Minister Bernard Quintin (MR) and Brussels' new Public Prosecutor to "take stock of the situation and possibly examine the actions that could be undertaken from Parliament to help improve security" in the Brussels Region.
Even the Belgian King, when welcoming the new Federal Government, called on politicians to rectify the situation in Brussels this week. The King emphasised the importance of compromise and dialogue – which are the foundations of the Belgian model.
"Brussels, our beautiful capital of Europe, is a crossroads, not a dead end. It must not become a symbol of gridlock. In the past, its representatives have always managed to find common ground. I am confident they will do so again for the benefit of the region’s residents and our country’s image."
