If there is no solution by Thursday to clear the abortion file, the MPs of Open VLD are free to vote. Liberal chairman Egbert Lachaert said this on Monday, after N-VA chairman Bart De Wever had made the approval a breaking point for government formation. “This has nothing to do with the much needed socio-economic recovery government that our country needs”, Lachaert responds to Radio 1.
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On Thursday, the bill that relaxes the abortion rules will again be on the agenda of the plenary Chamber. As is known, CD&V and N-VA are opposed to that law. N-VA chairman De Wever even shifted up a gear last weekend and made it a breaking point for government formation. In it, coalition partners MR, Open VLD and CD&V are looking for a federal majority with N-VA, SP.A and CDH. But according to De Wever, that will become impossible when that law comes.
Open VLD chairman Lachaert indicated that the trio is still looking for a solution to the file behind the scenes. He also believes that agreements can be made on the ethical themes to reconcile progressives and conservatives, but “firing scud missiles” is not going to help, it said.
Lachaert especially urges to seize “this last chance” to form a government. He expects the consequences of the corona crisis to really be felt in the autumn. It is therefore not possible for Lachaert that the House would be dissolved by then and that it would not be able to vote laws.
Breakpoint
He says he regrets that the delicate abortion file threatens to put the wheels of government formation in the running. “We are making progress,” said the Open VLD chairman. “There is a consultation between chiefs of cabinet every day. Every day they continue to write a text that has since grown into a mini-government agreement in two languages. And then I do not understand that Bart De Wever breaks through peace again by calling this law a breaking point. I understand that the proposal is difficult for him, but we should sit around the table and discuss it among us. Not in the media. And this has nothing to do with the socio-economic recovery government that our country urgently needs. There is a lot on the table to lead our country through this crisis. The past few weeks have been very constructive. If we put that aside with this proposal, it would be a great pity. ”
But if there is no solution by Thursday, the proposal will be on the Parliament’s agenda. “There are no more procedural tricks. Then all our MPs are free to vote. Attempts are being made to turn this into a party political story, but this is about the individual freedom of our MPs, ”emphasizes the liberal chairman. Incidentally, this does not exclude that his own group members will be against. “It’s going to be a dime on its side.”
Summer break
The plenary chamber will meet for the last summer recess on Thursday. After all, after the national holiday on 21 July, work has traditionally been suspended for a while, except for urgent matters. One way to lift the text over the summer – and a possible form of government – is to table another amendment and ask the Council of State for an opinion. This requires 50 votes, which CD&V, N-VA and Vlaams Belang easily obtain. However, that would not be very elegant, because that possibility has already been applied three times.
Another, more gallant, possibility is that the plenary Chamber approves an amendment to the bill. If this is done in plenary, the House of Representatives can no longer vote on the whole of the text in accordance with the regulations. Lachaert said Monday morning that there may also be support in the green group for an amendment on the criminal prosecution of doctors. Whether such an amendment would receive half the House’s support is not certain.
Presidents Lachaert, Joachim Coens (CD&V) and Georges-Louis Bouchez (MR) look set to focus on the abortion theme until Thursday and remain quieter in government formation unless they compromise beforehand.
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