Negotiations in forming the new Flemish government are picking up speed.
Following his party’s resounding triumph in June 9th’s Belgian elections, N-VA leader Bart De Wever was appointed as informateur—the figure who speaks to potential partners to explore a working coalition—for both Flemish and federal negotiations.
On Wednesday, he completed the former task, appointing fellow party member Matthias Diependaele as formateur for the Flemish government.
“Informateur Bart De Wever is pleased to report that the Flemish scouting phase has been successfully completed. N-VA, Vooruit and CD&V gave their agreement to start the formation process and negotiate in depth towards a new Flemish coalition agreement. Matthias Diependaele will lead that process as formateur,” the N-VA reported in a press release.
On X, Diependaele accepted the assignment, adding he “looked forward” to crafting a strong Flemish coalition agreement” with all three parties.
A sober professional, Diependaele can draw on considerable experience, and is not known for provoking feelings of enmity in any party across the political spectrum—a strength when mediating coalition talks between parties which, on some fronts, have rather divergent positions.
To aid him in his efforts, Diependaele will be flanked by Zuhal Demir, Ben Weyts, and Annick De Ridder. At present, Demir and Weyts are both Flemish ministers, while De Ridder is a municipal councilor in Antwerp.
N-VA went on to emphasize that these choices will have no bearing on who will assume which ministerial posts afterwards.
Together with the Flemish nationalist Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie (N-VA), the Christian Democrats, (CD&V) and the Socialists (Vooruit), Diependaele will now try and hammer out such an agreement—a task that, if brought to completion, is usually rewarded with the position of Flemish prime minister.
Bart de Wever was able to move forward after Vooruit, following CD&V’s example, showed a willingness “to go sit at the table and start negotiations” on the formation of a Flemish government.
CD&V chairman Sammy Mahdi had one caveat however, saying de Wever’s draft proposal was but an “invitation to the table, not a binding document,” and that for his party, “some fundamental things were missing”and that “there are a few topics which we view in a fundamentally different manner. This will have to be further clarified in the coming weeks during the negotiations.”
In addition, current Flemish minister-president Jan Jambon (N-VA) will assist Bart de Wever during talks for the formation of a federal government.
On Wednesday, De Wever also paid a visit to King Filip of Belgium to report on his progress in “ascertaining which parties are willing to quickly form a stable coalition at the federal level and what the main political lines of this coalition would be.”
His assignment having been extended by one week, it is most likely that De Wever will aim for a federal government which would comprise all parties forming those of the regions; in this case, N-VA, CD&V, Vooruit, and, on the francophone end, the Christian democratic Les Engagés and the center-right MR.
A sense of urgency pervades the proceedings, given that fiscally, Belgium is in trouble.
Also on Wednesday day, the European Commission gave formal warning to Belgium, together with Italy, France and five other EU countries, for overspending.
Through its Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP), Brussels seeks to rein in spending in countries exceeding the EU’s 3% GDP-deficit ratio, or, in plainer terms, a budget deficit: Last year, Belgium’s budget deficit was 4.4%.
In last month’s economic forecast, the European Commission predicted that the country’s budget deficit could reach 4.7% by the end of next year if nothing changes.
To stave off that outcome, on Friday, the Commission will present a plan to Belgium to get it on the right fiscal path again. Such a plan can include concrete measures needing to be taken by Belgium before a strict deadline. Member states that do not follow such measures, imposed by the Commission, risk a fine. To reduce its deficit, the Belgian government would have a choice between a 4-year or 7-year deadline.
Given Brussels’ slap on the wrist, De Wever’s repeated calls for budgetary cuts—on the campaign trail and after—could conceivably be met with support from coalition partners and make them more amenable to compromise so that Belgium has a new government within an acceptable time frame.
A long period without a government, which Belgium is notorious for (In 2010-11 it set the world record of 589 days), the country can ill afford.
