Belgium ends political deadlock: Agreement on new federal government is near

More than seven months after the elections, formateur and soon-to-be prime minister Bart De Wever will this evening meet King Philippe at the royal palace and declare that he has fulfilled his mission to form the new Belgian government. What looked like the easiest government formation in a long time turned out to be months of complicated political negotiations.
King Philippe initiated the formation process by appointing Bart De Wever, leader of the N-VA and the largest party, as informateur on 12 June 2024, following the national elections the weekend before. The Flemish liberals of Open Vld decided to go into opposition after 25 years in government, while the Socialist Party (PS) made a similar decision following a shift to the right in French-speaking Belgium.
With the Greens weakened and the participation of Vlaams Belang and PVDA-PTB ruled out, the most viable coalition consisted of the Flemish nationalist N-VA, the socialist Vooruit party and the Christian Democrats CD&V, together with the French-speaking liberal MR and the centrist Les Engagés. This alliance - dubbed the "Arizona coalition" - secured a comfortable majority of 82 seats in the federal parliament and held a majority in both language groups.
De Wever had to assess the parties' willingness to form a stable coalition and outline the main policy directions. Despite progress, significant obstacles arose, particularly in the areas of socio-economic policy and institutional reform. Vooruit demanded that social security spending be protected, while the N-VA and MR opposed additional taxes on wealth. Meanwhile, the N-VA sought to transform Belgium into a confederal state, a demand opposed by the francophone parties.
On 26 June De Wever was appointed preformateur, allowing him to begin structured coalition talks. By the end of July, negotiators had tentatively agreed on a budgetary framework requiring savings of 28 billion euros, split between structural reforms and spending cuts. However, deep divisions remained, particularly over a proposed capital gains tax. The MR strongly opposed such a tax, while Vooruit insisted on a fairer redistribution of wealth. On 22 August, negotiations broke down and De Wever submitted his resignation to the King. Seeking a breakthrough, King Philippe appointed Maxime Prévot of Les Engagés as mediator, who managed to restore dialogue by early September.
On 2 September, De Wever was reinstated as formateur and the negotiations resumed with a revised approach. Talks focused on thematic working groups on economic policy, security, migration and energy. However, the deep ideological divide between the centre-left and centre-right factions persisted, leading to further deadlocks. While MR and N-VA pushed for tax cuts and budgetary discipline, Vooruit called for stronger social protection. A compromise proved elusive, leading to several extensions of the deadline by the King.
Breakthrough after marathon session
Negotiations accelerated in December, with intensive discussions on pensions, labour market reforms and taxation. In early January, renewed efforts were made to bridge the remaining gaps. Vooruit continued to resist proposed adjustments to Belgium's automatic wage indexation, arguing that they would harm workers' purchasing power. With pressure mounting, a final round of negotiations was launched on 29 January at the Royal Military Academy in Brussels, where party leaders held a marathon two-day session to finalise a coalition agreement.
The breakthrough finally came in the evening of 31 January. The five coalition parties reached a consensus on socio-economic reforms, budgetary measures and the structure of the government. With this crucial agreement in place, De Wever will this evening present the coalition pact to King Philippe, setting the stage for the official formation of Belgium's new federal government.
Bart De Wever © BELGA PHOTO DIRK WAEM
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