Sammy Mahdi, president of CD&V, believes in the potential Arizona majority, despite the complexity of the negotiations. He calls on everyone “to take responsibility” for this coalition to succeed.
Does Arizona still have a chance of succeeding? This Tuesday, Bart De Wever will meet the King again, after having submitted his resignation and having obtained an additional week to carry out new consultations. The question “what will be the coalition favored by the president of the N-VA?” still remains unanswered. Sammy Mahdi, president of the CD&V, declares on our set that he does not think that Arizona is dead.
“The most important thing is that everyone takes responsibility and comes to the table and negotiates. And this is where in recent days, we have had a lot of problems having everyone around the table. But when we look at the Flemish government with the NVA, CD&V, Vooruit and the Walloon government with the Engagés and the MR, it is logical to have this coalition, it is a stable and broad coalition“, he explains.
I love the Bouglione circus, but in Parliament, we must avoid
Another solution could be that of another coalition, the “Lagon” with the N-VA, the CD&V, the MR, the Engagés and the Flemish liberals of the Open VLD. Sammy Mahdi doesn’t see this possibility very favorably: “You have to remain reasonable, all the same. At some point, I understand that we want to find a solution, but in Flemish we say “Paniekvoetbal”, football panics. We are trying to find a solution, with a majority seat. This means that every week in Parliament, there are 76 MPs who can have fun. One who says no, one who says yes. (…) I love the Bouglione circus. I used to go there very often with the family. But the circus in Parliament, we must avoid“, he reacts.
In any case, Sammy Mahdi says he remains “positive”, although, he admits, time is running out: “There is urgency and there is opportunity too. I would like to stay positive. There is an opportunity for this political generation of which I am a part to prove that we can form a government that will ensure that we are no longer the country with the highest labor taxes in the world. We have a proposal regarding that. To invest in our health, which is so important, we show off around the world, we must continue to invest and ensure that those who work, those who work, can have a government that is stable, that strengthens security and which ensures that those who work are not taxed as is the case today“, concludes Sammy Mahdi.
The rest of the saga this Tuesday
Royal trainer Bart De Wever will be received on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. by the King to report on his additional consultations with a view to forming a new federal majority, the Palace said on Monday.
Last week, faced with the blockage between the five parties expected to form an Arizona coalition, the president of the N-VA handed over his trainer’s apron to the King after several months of fruitless discussions.
The sovereign, however, put his decision under advisement, leaving the trainer eight more days, until November 12, to conduct “additional consultations”. Bart De Wever took advantage of these eight days to conduct a series of contacts in complete discretion. He notably resumed speaking with Vooruit, but also exchanged with the Flemish liberals of Open-VLD.
This Monday evening, on the eve of his new meeting at the Palace, the trainer reconvened at 5:00 p.m. the presidents of the MR, the CD&V and the Engagés to take stock.
At the start of the weekend, the political situation still seemed very uncertain. Both a resumption of discussions with Vooruit and the opening of government negotiations with Open VLD seemed at this stage still premature.
sammy mahdi CD&V arizona government negotiations formation of a federal government
