Belgium fails to form a coalition government, talks deadlocked

The process of forming a government in Belgium following the June elections is stuck. Flemish politician Bart de Wever, who took on the task of forming a government, has failed to reach an agreement with his coalition partners.

Efforts to form a government continue in Belgium following the June elections. However, no significant progress has yet been made in coalition talks and the formation of a government.

According to a statement from the Belgian Royal Palace, King Philippe received the leader of the Flemish nationalist party N-VA, Bart De Wever, at the palace. The King reviewed the report presented by De Wever and stated that there was no clear progress in the process of forming a government and announced that a new meeting would be held on November 25.

De Wever had previously submitted his resignation to the King, but the King had refused to accept it and given him an extension. This development shows that the uncertainty surrounding Belgium’s long-standing government crisis continues.

De Wever was tasked by the King to form a government after the elections. However, since his N-VA party failed to gain a majority on its own, De Wever began coalition talks. These talks were attended by the Francophone liberal MR party, which holds first place in the parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region and the French-speaking community of Wallonia, the centrist party Les Engages, which holds fourth place in Wallonia, the Flemish Vooruit, which holds third place in the Flemish region, and the Flemish Christian Democrats CD&V.

However, the talks stalled when they could not reach an agreement on the federal social reforms proposed by De Wever as the main issue. The left-leaning Flemish Vooruit party also withdrew from the negotiations.

Belgium has been faced with the problem of not being able to form a government after almost every election due to disagreements between the federal regions. Similar crises have occurred in previous years. It remained without a government for 107 days after the 1979 elections, 148 days after the 1988 elections, 194 days after the 2007 elections, and 653 days after the 2019 elections.

According to Politico, Belgium’s king met with De Wever on Thursday, asking him to land an agreement “within a reasonable period” — royal code for “hurry up” — and to report back on his progress Nov 4.

De Wever said “As a person, I’m not looking forward to becoming prime minister. I am dreading it immensely.”