Informants will report to the King on Monday.
–
Thehe royal informers Georges-Louis Bouchez (MR) and Joachim Coens (CD&V) received Friday, successively at the headquarters of the CD&V, the presidents of the N-VA, Bart De Wever, and of the PS, Paul Magnette. On Monday, they will report to the King on their mission and by then they should attempt to lay the groundwork for a future government coalition.
Leaks from the note presented to the presidents of the ten parties involved in the information phase on Thursday fueled comments and sparked mixed reactions. It appeared logically more to the right than the result of the work of Mr. Magnette, previous informant, and therefore much better accepted by both the Open VLD and the N-VA. On the left, the comments were (much) more critical, but some reminded that it was not the final version of the note and that “everything was negotiable”.
Discretion was essential after the interviews on Friday. The informants undoubtedly wanted to hear the final assessment of the two largest French-speaking and Flemish parties on the information note and to know – once again – if they could negotiate with each other.
The answer is already known from the French-speaking socialist side: there is no possible alliance with the N-VA. The track of a “Vivaldi” coalition associating socialists, liberals, environmentalists and the CD&V seems for a few days the most plausible but the CD&V threw trouble Friday. Deputy Prime Minister Koen Geens recalled the position of his party: a federal coalition must win a majority in Flanders. However, without the N-VA, no majority in the Dutch-speaking linguistic group of the Chamber.
A meeting between the parties that would form the future federal coalition could take place between now and the report to the King. The weekend was already busy, with CDH and MR conventions and New Year’s greetings from the N-VA. It could also be decisive for the further formation of a federal government.
– .
