Government negotiations dragged on for over a year after the elections. According to political commentator Rik Van Cauwelaert, all parties must resume discussions on the merits. ‘Whether some parties think Bouchez is a sympathetic man or not: they will have to work with it anyway.’
King Filip decided on Monday afternoon to hold the dismissal of preformateurs Bart De Wever (N-VA) and Paul Magnette under consideration for the time being. On Monday afternoon, the head of state will once again start consultation rounds with the party chairpersons to restart the stalled government negotiations. According to political commentator Rik Van Cauwelaert, there is still only one viable option.
…
King Filip decided on Monday afternoon to hold the dismissal of preformateurs Bart De Wever (N-VA) and Paul Magnette under consideration for the time being. On Monday afternoon, the head of state will once again start consultation rounds with the party chairpersons to restart the stalled government negotiations. According to political commentator Rik Van Cauwelaert, there is still only one viable option. How can the King still revive the government negotiations? Rik Van Cauwelaert: The N-VA and the PS as the central axis of the new federal government is the only workable path. No comprehensive compromise is possible without the two largest parties. This has always happened in the past: time and time again the CVP and the PS agreed on a state reform. Once, during the purple governments, it was tried without both sides. This ultimately turned out to be a complete disaster because the Verhofstadt government completely screwed up Jean-Luc Dehaene’s special financing law. In recent months, the PS and the N-VA have finally come closer together after much hesitation. The parties must maintain that momentum. Should the negotiations then take place again from the outset with all parties aiming for a majority? Now the liberals or the greens were only brought in at the end. Van Cauwelaert: I understand that there was some willingness on the part of the negotiators to shift in the direction of the liberals from a socio-economic point of view. It is especially interesting that the N-VA has opposed the MR, because I am told that the latter were not reluctant to fiscal and financial responsibility for the regions. Just to say that not everything is what it seems at first glance. George-Louis Bouchez hopes to win over the voters of the CDH with his Belgicist view, but on the other hand he is quite willing to accept some of the demands of some Flemish parties. Is the king therefore reserving the dismissal of the preformers for the time being? Van Cauwelaert: I assume so. Against the backdrop of the political spectacle, a number of prominent politicians from N-VA and MR are said to still be in contact with each other. As long as those channels remain open, it is recommended to walk that purple-yellow run. And preferably quickly, because one cannot hide behind the corona conditions forever. Since the elections, the CD&V has always clung to N-VA and advocated a reconciliation attempt with the PS … Van Cauwelaert: (interrupts) We may have to be more careful with words such as ‘clinging’. The CD&V has calculated that the N-VA must be in the federal government anyway. Not because the party likes to govern with the N-VA, but because it does not want the Flemish government to become unworkable. The same applies to the Open VLD, which does not ‘cling’ to the MR. Lachaert simply states that De Wever and Magnette want to sit down with both Groen and Ecolo and not with the two liberal parties. Isn’t it normal for him to ask himself the necessary questions about this? Do you believe that the Christian Democrats would still opt for a Vivaldi government if the tandem between PS and N-VA still fails? Van Cauwelaert: Neither Egbert Lachaert (Open VLD) nor Joachim Coens (CD&V) will sit in a government with minority on the Flemish side. This is not explained in Flanders, if only because the private sector in Flanders is much larger than that in Wallonia. The discussion as to whether N-VA really wants to join the government does not really matter to CD&V and Open VLD. The point is that in that case both parties will be constantly bombarded by both the N-VA and the Vlaams Belang. Include the rock-hard socio-economic measures that are imminent due to the corona pandemic. The two parties would never keep that up, they are already fighting a life and death battle. The anger among the population about the policies pursued is already so great that you really cannot run the risk of putting the two largest Flemish parties aside. In an interview with De Standaard, Lachaert has proposed a deadline of September 17. In politics, a month takes an eternity, but in the light of the drawn-out negotiations that seems like a piece of cake. Van Cauwelaert: Although there is a good relationship between the PS and the N-VA, there is still a lot of work to be done. And not just with the liberals. CDH chairman Maxime Prévot noted earlier that De Wever and Magnette must also take into account the other three parties from ‘the bubble of five’ (SP.A, CD&V and CDH, ed.). Until now, they were actually only at the table for bacon and beans. Conner Rousseau mainly acts as a liaison officer between the parties, but he has not yet negotiated the substance of the matter. Also at CD&V they do not seem to know exactly where to go. And Prévot does not just want to agree with the institutional part that De Wever and Magnette discussed. Doesn’t it make sense to supplement the current government further? Then the liberals are suddenly at the table. Van Cauwelaert: That’s right. About that: whether some parties think Bouchez is a sympathetic man or not: they will have to work with it anyway. He gets the support of all the leaders within his party, father and son Michel, Reynders, Wilmès, Crucke … He is party chairman and that is the end of it.
–
