Bart de Wever spoke. And he decided to make this abortion file, a central file for the formation of a government. Maximum pressure on the parties who therefore want to form a government with the N-VA, in particular the liberals of the north and the south who are still trying to form a government without the PS, the famous Arizona majority. We can even speak of a time bomb. A bomb which can, however, be defused quite easily. Parliament is on vacation soon. One more filibuster, a new postponement of the text would bring us directly to September.
Discretion
The N-VA has hitherto looked after its “reasonable” party image. She takes a risk by going out like this. On several occasions she has not already hesitated to place bombs to make negotiations fail when it did not go in the direction she wanted.
The fact remains that now this relaxation of abortion, and more generally the ethical divide between progressives and conservatives is taking a central place. The N-VA wants to assert itself, with the CD & V, on this axis. And of course for the N-VA the case is also community. This morning in a carte blanche published in the Morgen, Bart de Wever is very explicit on this north-south dimension. There is no majority in Flanders for this project, but there is a “Belgian” majority, he says, putting Belgian in quotes.
Advancing this pernicious bill would add yet another bite to this democratic fiction. Those who are trying to form a federal government, especially those who want to sing their love for this country, would do well to take it into account and temper their will.
National Holiday
This is why the N-VA waited until July 11, Flemish national holiday, to launch its offensive. It is not primarily a question of defending the right of the unborn child. It is a matter of defending the categorical nationalist imperative: Any federal law must have a double majority, a general majority and a majority in Flanders. Why ? Because for the N-VA, federal Belgium is a “democratic fiction”. The majority is of course not essential on the French-speaking side.
Another, simpler formulation of this categorical imperative Deweverien: If you love Belgium, let the Flemish majority decide.
Before July 21, the question of abortion therefore becomes a highly community issue. Federal negotiations are therefore sinking a little deeper into quicksand. Sou your stunned eyes, and tired, it is quite possible to still sink with additional ukases. Of course the other parties also have their share of responsibility in this clash.
Quicksands
The parties which support this law know from the start that this text clashes with the fundamental principles of a possible future partner (and strategic partner) the CD & V.
They know that CD & V has returned to the case law that prevailed before 1990 and the law partially decriminalizes abortion. Ethical issues have once again become issues of government. The Liberals know this very well; they have already accepted it under the previous majority.
They know these parties, that they will not be able to get what they want if a government is formed with the CD & V (and now it is very clear with the N-VA). So they advance in parliament, but they know that they are moving away from a government.
There was a time, not so far ago, when party presidents, seeing this clash coming, would have asked their deputies to ease off to give federal negotiations a chance. But it was a time when the first and second Flemish parties (Vlaams Belang) did not consider Belgium as a democratic fiction.
Is the formation of a government still possible with the N-VA and the CD & V tied, as in the days of the cartel, in this categorical imperative of the Flemish double majority?
No. No doubt not. Successful negotiation is not the priority for Bart de Wever. But it is probably no longer the case for other party presidents either. They are watching the next election. And the main question that will arise whether they like it or not: Is Belgium a democratic fiction?
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