This article needs to be updated. (June 2024) |
Following the 2024 Belgian federal and regional elections, Government formation talks began on 10 June. Incumbent Prime Minister Alexander De Croo has announced his resignation[1] and his party's leader Tom Ongena has declared that Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats would not be a part of the next federal government.
Overview
edit| Government | Outgoing coalition | Next coalition | Sworn in (days after election) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Federal Government | De Croo | Flemish side CD&V Open Vld Vooruit Groen Francophone side PS MR Ecolo |
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 |
Flemish Government | Jambon | N-VA CD&V Open Vld |
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 |
French Community Government | Jeholet | PS Ecolo MR |
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| |
Walloon Government | Di Rupo III | PS Ecolo MR |
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Brussels Government | Vervoort III | Francophone side PS Ecolo Défi Flemish side Groen Open Vld one.brussels-Vooruit |
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 |
German-speaking Community Govt. | Paasch II | ProDG PFF PS |
Paasch III | ProDG CSP PFF |
13 June 2024 (4 days)[2] |
Federal government
editAccording to political analysts, the most obvious federal coalition would consist of the right-wing New Flemish Alliance, Reformist Movement, and centre-left Vooruit, with the centrist Christian Democratic and Flemish and Les Engagés parties to reach at least 76 seats. Other coalitions are ruled out, following the decision of Open Vld, Groen and the Socialist Party to be part of the opposition. Vlaams Belang is not expected to be part of the government at any level, due to the cordon sanitaire.[3][4]
On 12 June, after consulting with party presidents, King Philippe named N-VA leader Bart De Wever as informateur.[5] He had to submit a report by 19 June. After said report was submitted, his mission as informateur was extended by another week until 26 June.[6]
On 15 June, [[)[7]]], leader of Vooruit, declared that she didn't wish Georges-Louis Bouchez, leader of MR, to be in the future government, citing his "disloyal" attitude towards the De Croo Government and his lack of proficiency in Dutch as factors that would harm a future coalition. She also declared that she desired to push a social design onto a future coalition that she notes is emerging to be on the right, which, in her eyes, will make negotiation very difficult.[8]
On 21 June, Bart De Wever announce that he sees the only logical government formation to be the so-called "Arizona coalition" (N-VA - MR - LE - Vooruit - CD&V), which combines the respective parties negotiating in Flanders and Wallonia for the respective regional governments. According to De Wever, any other attempt at government formation would lead to a period of endless negotiations. He specifies that the Arizona formation would allow for relative coherence on a socio-economic level, but that it would make any prospect of institutional reform more difficult to negotiate.[9]
On 26 June, De Wever submitted his second report to the King as informateur, subsequently he was relieved of informateur duties and was appointed as preformateur.[10] The choice to appoint a preformateur was analysed by political commentators as confirmation of an incoming Arizona coalition government, but simultaneously an admission that the differences between the parties needed to form government are still too vast for quick and easy negotiations and that a government is not imminent.[11]
Possible coalitions
editSorted descending by number of total seats:
| Coalition | Coalition parties | Total number of seats | Flemish seats | Francophone seats | Pitfalls | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flemish | Francophone | |||||
| Vivaldi incl. LE | Vooruit + CD&V + Open Vld + Groen | MR + PS + LE + Ecolo | 90 / 150
|
37 / 89
|
53 / 61
|
Extension of the outgoing coalition strengthened by LE. Broad coalition which is a minority on Flemish side. Open Vld and PS both decided to remain in opposition. PS needed for majority. |
| Arizona excl. PS & Open Vld | N-VA + Vooruit + CD&V | MR + LE | 82 / 150
|
48 / 89
|
34 / 61
|
Vast political differences in opinion between largest (N-VA) and second largest (Vooruit) Flemish parties. Vooruit president Melissa Depraetere has stated that her party may refuse to be part of a government including MR president George-Louis Bouchez, citing issues with his "disloyalty" to the incumbent Vivaldi government. |
Other coalitions are also mathematically possible, but in practice unlikely. For instance: both the PS and Open Vld had announced in the beginning of the formation that they preferred to remain in the opposition, while extremist parties on both sides (left: Workers' Party of Belgium, right: Vlaams Belang) are unlikely to be part of the government due to vetoes by other parties.
Flemish government
editThe 2024 regional election saw the decline of Open Vld, Groen, CD&V, and N-VA, with an increase of votes for Vooruit, PVDA and VB. The incumbent government lost its majority, with only 56 out of 124 seats. Alongside the decisions of Open Vld and Groen to remain in opposition,[12][13] this means the only possible majority government formation without breaking the cordon sanitaire with VB is a tripartite coalition featuring N-VA, Vooruit, and CD&V, which would have a majority at 65 out of 124 seats.[14]
On 14 June, following talks with Sammy Mahdi of CD&V and Melissa Depraetere of Vooruit, Bart De Wever announced that he would draft a preliminary memorandum before negotiations began between the three parties.[15]
On 19 June, Matthias Diependaele of N-VA was called upon to form government on the regional level, with Vooruit and CD&V announcing they are ready to begin negotiations.[16] He will be assisted in the formation proceedings by Zuhal Demir, Ben Weyts, and Annick De Ridder.
Walloon government
editThe regional election saw a victory for the right-leaning bloc of MR and Les Engagés, to the detriment of the PS, Ecolo, and PTB. While the incumbent government's so-called "rainbow coalition" is still mathematically possible, with its majority being held at 50 out of 75 seats, it has been deemed impossible due to PS's decision to remain in opposition.[17] On 11 June, two days after the election, Maxime Prévot and Georges-Louis Bouchez announced their intent to launch negotiations to form a two-party majority government of MR and LE, with 43 out of 75 seats.[18]
On 18 June, a series of consultations began with different organisations, beginning with employers' organisations including VOKA, representing Flemish employers, followed by talks with the unions.[19]
Brussels-Capital Region government
editOn the Francophone side, the election saw the rise of MR, PTB, and (more modestly) of LE (formerly CdH). Ecolo and Défi lost about half their seats while PS managed to hold on despite a slight decline.
On the Dutch-speaking side, N-VA, Open Vld, and Vooruit each lost a seat while Groen remained stable and VB gained one. The real upheaval was on the side of Team Fouad Ahidar, a new party launched by Fouad Ahidar, a former Brussels MP for Vooruit, which has been characterised by the importance it gives to the "defence of the Muslim community" and religious values.[20] The party obtained 3 seats and became the second-largest Dutch-speaking political party in Brussels.
The incumbent government is not renewable, having lost its overall majority at only 37 out of 89 seats, as well as both of its language-specific majorities, with only 29 out of the 72 Francophone seats (compared to its previous 42) and only 8 out of 17 Dutch-speaking seats (compared to its previous 11). Open Vld and Ecolo have also announced their intentions to remain in opposition.[21][22] Although Paul Magnette, federal leader of PS, announced his intentions for the party to stay in opposition at all levels, Ahmed Laaouej, head of the party list at the regional level, declared that the regional branch of the party is ready to be part of a regional majority government.[23] On 11 June, MR and LE declared that they were joining forces to carry out negotiations in Brussels.[24]
The establishment of a government poses several issues. Firstly, with MR and Groen are essential to their respective linguistic colleges, however, MR's desire to get rid of the "Good Move" plan put in place by Groen in the previous government arouses tensions between Georges-Louis Bouchez and Elke Van den Brandt, even before the start of negotiations.[25] Therefore, Team Fouad Ahidar proves to be necessary to form a three-way Dutch-speaking majority coalition (in the case of a fourth party joining the coalition, one would have to decline a ministerial post), however, Ahidar's political line is controversial, with Guy Vanhengel of Open Vld accusing the party of being "focused on sharia".[26]
German-speaking Community government
editThe election saw a great victory for the Christian-democratic and liberal ProDG which gained 2 seats, a gain of a single seat was also seen by the liberal Vivant. All other political parties saw a loss of a single seat except for the conservative-liberal Perspectives. Freedom. Progress. (PFF), which remained stable at 3 seats. The incumbent government was potentially renewable, as it retained its majority with 14 out of 25 seats. However, on 13 June, just 4 days after the election, it was announced that ProDG, the Christian Social Party (CSP) and PFF had finalised a coalition agreement and that Oliver Paasch would be Minister-President of the German-speaking Community for a third consecutive term, with a majority of 16 out of the 25 seats in the Parliament. This is a historic change in government, putting the Socialist Party (SP) into opposition for the first time since 1990, with the Christian democrats returning to government for the first time in 25 years.[27]
References
edit- ^ "Belgium's PM De Croo resigns after election defeat – DW – 06/10/2024". dw.com. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
- ^ "Wahlsieger ProDG wagt Neuanfang mit CSP und PFF". Belgischer Rundfunk (in German). 13 June 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
- ^ Walker, Lauren (10 June 2024). "Long road ahead or quick decisions: What possible coalitions can be formed?".
- ^ ""Federal coalition puzzle can be solved quickly, but N-VA will have to make choices"". 11 June 2024.
- ^ "Direct – Élections : Bart De Wever désigné informateur, il rendra son premier rapport le 19 juin" (in French). Retrieved 2024-06-12.
- ^ "Direct – Formation des gouvernements : la mission de l'informateur Bart De Wever prolongée d'une semaine, Mathias Diependaele désigné formateur flamand" (in French). Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ Hermans, Jacques (2024-06-12). "Elections 2024 : en Flandre, la lente mise en route de la coalition Rocket". La Libre.be (in French). Retrieved 2024-06-12.
- ^ info, R. T. L. (2024-06-15). ""Nous serons débarrassés de lui et il ne devra pas apprendre le néerlandais": Georges-Louis Bouchez pas le bienvenu au fédéral pour la présidente de Vooruit" (in French). Retrieved 2024-06-16.
- ^ BELGA (2024-06-21). "Pour l'informateur Bart De Wever, une seule formule de coalition est possible à court terme pour le gouvernement fédéral" (in French). Retrieved 2024-06-21.
- ^ "Formation du fédéral : le roi Philippe nomme Bart De Wever (N-VA) préformateur" (in French). Retrieved 2024-06-26.
- ^ "Gouvernement fédéral : pourquoi l'informateur De Wever devient-il préformateur et pas formateur ?" (in French). Retrieved 2024-06-26.
- ^ "L'Open VLD ne montera pas au gouvernement" (in French). 2024-06-09. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
- ^ "Elections 2024 : Groen choisit l'opposition flamande et fédérale" (in French). 2024-06-12. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
- ^ Hermans, Jacques (2024-06-12). "Elections 2024 : en Flandre, la lente mise en route de la coalition Rocket" (in French). Retrieved 2024-06-12.
- ^ Belga, Belga (2024-06-14). "Bientôt un gouvernement flamand ? Bart De Wever prépare une "note" après avoir rencontré Melissa Depraetere et Sammy Mahdi" (in French). Retrieved 2024-06-14.
- ^ Flandre, Flandreinfo be-L'Actu de (2024-06-19). "Matthias Diependaele appelé à former le gouvernement flamand : N-VA, Vooruit et CD&V entament les négociations" (in French). Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ "Elections 2024 : le PS fait le choix de l'opposition à tous les niveaux de pouvoir, 'une conséquence logique'" (in French). Retrieved 2024-06-12.
- ^ "Élections : 'union sacrée' entre le MR et les Engagés qui entament des négociations en Wallonie et en Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles" (in French). Retrieved 2024-06-12.
- ^ "Georges-Louis Bouchez et Maxime Prévot entament leurs consultations ce lundi" (in French). 2024-06-17. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ "À Bruxelles, la surprise Fouad Ahidar : un programme 'axé sur les aspects religieux', mais 'là pour tous les Bruxellois'" (in French). Retrieved 2024-06-12.
- ^ "L'Open VLD ne montera pas au gouvernement" (in French). 2024-06-09. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
- ^ "Zakia Khattabi: "Ecolo sera dans l'opposition à Bruxelles"". 2024-06-12. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
- ^ "Elections 2024 : Ahmed Laaouej estime qu'il « faudra compter avec les socialistes » à Bruxelles (vidéo)" (in French). 2024-06-10. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
- ^ "Élections : 'union sacrée' entre le MR et les Engagés qui entament des négociations en Wallonie et en Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles" (in French). Retrieved 2024-06-12.
- ^ Belga, Belga (2024-06-12). "Formation Bruxelles - G-L. Bouchez à Van den Brandt: il y a plusieurs moyens d'enterrer Good Move" (in French). Retrieved 2024-06-12.
- ^ Rigot, Marie (2024-06-12). "Fouad Ahidar accusé d'avoir un programme "axé sur la charia": "C'est scandaleux"" (in French). Retrieved 2024-06-12.
- ^ "Élections 2024 : accord en Communauté germanophone, la nouvelle majorité sera composée de ProDG, CSP (sociaux-chrétiens) et PFF (libéraux)" (in French). Retrieved 2024-06-13.