The 7 parties that must form the new federal government (the liberals of Open VLD and MR, the socialists of SP.A and PS, the green parties Ecolo-Green and the Flemish Christian Democrats of CD&V) will not negotiate until the finish tonight, in the Egmont Palace in Brussels.
The negotiators have come to the traditional capstone of the formation: the budget. The pennies, a billion dollar issue, determine what policies will be possible, which trophies the parties will each be able to win. A traditionally very difficult point, but that is now even more the case because the corona crisis has further increased the budget deficit.
After their audience with the king last night, the formateurs Alexander De Croo (Open VLD) and Paul Magnette (PS) – who lead the negotiations – were given some extra time. Since then, the seven parties have not sat “plenary”, all together, around one table to discuss that budget. The formateurs apparently opted for “bilateral talks” with the parties individually.
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