Arizona coalition aims for federal government by end of January
Formateur Bart De Wever and the leaders of the proposed Arizona coalition aim to establish a federal government by the end of January. This timeline was announced by De Wever on Sunday evening after a brief meeting with the negotiators.
During the meeting, De Wever (N-VA) and the party leaders of MR, Les Engagés, Vooruit and CD&V reviewed the progress of socio-economic negotiations. "On this basis, the formateur and the party leaders have agreed to accelerate the pace in order to provide this country with an Arizona government by the end of January," De Wever stated in a press release.
New meeting with the King
The formateur is scheduled to meet King Philippe again on 7 January. At that time, De Wever plans to "inform the head of state of the progress, with the aim of achieving a significant breakthrough in the negotiations, and in that case requesting a final extension." To reach this goal, the negotiators will "resume an intensive work schedule" starting 2 January, with preparations being handled at a technical level in the coming days.
The Arizona negotiators reconvened on Sunday around 16:00 for a short plenary meeting. This followed a series of bilateral talks on Saturday at the N-VA headquarters, where De Wever met individually with party leaders Conner Rousseau (Vooruit), Georges-Louis Bouchez (MR), Maxime Prévot (Les Engagés) and Sammy Mahdi (CD&V).
Although the original goal was to form a government by the end of the year, that deadline proved unrealistic. On Saturday evening, Prévot remarked that even 7 January seemed too soon for finalising a coalition agreement. Now, the end of January is being proposed as the new target, a date that would mark over seven months since the 13 June elections.
Discussions continue to centre on De Wever's socio-economic reform proposal and the amendments introduced by the potential coalition partners.
N-VA chairman Bart De Wever arrives for a plenary session of the members of a possible coalition for the Federal Government on 29 December 2024 in Brussels. © BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK
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