After Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo called for a “pause” on EU legislation aimed at protecting biodiversity, the Federal Government is now once again divided along party lines, with an eye on next year’s elections.
De Croo has already rolled back on his previous comments following the outcry. In parliament on Thursday, he no longer called for a full-out pause but rather “a necessary assessment of the proposed measures’ impact.”
Nonetheless, the same issues remain with the government’s left-wing members still said to be enraged by the PM’s comments.
De Croo’s political beliefs were evidenced on Thursday by expressing his worries over the EU’s green legislative agenda potentially harming Belgium’s economic growth. His comments sparked significant controversy.
Internally, De Croo has been praised as a consensus-building Prime Minister, making his choice of publicly denouncing a flagship anti-climate change policy promoted at the EU level, as especially baffling to his green and socialist coalition partners.
Moreover, De Croo’s liberal party Open VLD are said to have been particularly well-liked by the greens in government, especially compared to the French-speaking liberals MR – whose leader Georges-Louis Bouchez has consistently attacked the Belgian Green parties (Ecolo and Groen) over the planned extension of nuclear reactors.
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The Prime Minister's right-wing lurch has been largely viewed by analysts as being a move to improve the polling of his party ahead of the 2024 elections.
The most recent polls put Open VLD at 9% in Flanders and losing a third of their seats in the Federal Parliament despite De Croo consistently ranking among the country’s most popular politicians.
Regionally, in particular, Open VLD have been outflanked by Flemish nationalists N-VA and the far-right party Vlaams Belang – the biggest political forces in Flanders. Both parties are regularly eurosceptic, particularly over “defending” Flemish industry and farming against the red tape of EU legislation.
These pressures may have prompted De Croo to "pause" on biodiversity protection to protect his own party's electoral future, knowing that he would be supported by the Federal Government's right-wing members.
Proving his point, a government source told The Brussels Times that they were not surprised by the PM’s comments as “De Croo has been reinforcing his [economically] liberal stance for some time now.”
It now remains to be seen whether his decision to start the 2024 election campaign early, will mark an improvement in the polls.
