Elections 2024: Belgium moves right

As expected, the political shift in Belgium is towards the right. Sunday's elections, however, delivered results that are somewhat different from what the opinion polls predicted. In Flanders, extreme right Vlaams Belang didn’t become the biggest party. Right-wing party N-VA remains the leader, with 25 per cent of Flemish votes, against 22 for Vlaams Belang. On the francophone side, liberal MR is the big winner, surpassing socialist PS, with 22 per cent to the PS's 18 per cent.

Not all votes have been counted yet but several trends are clear. The green parties, Ecolo and Groen, have lost a lot of votes but not as many as they feared. They get 7 to 9 per cent, depending on the region.

In the other political families, the trends differ. In the liberal family, francophone MR is the biggest winner and Flemish Open VLD the biggest loser. In the socialist family, francophone PS has suffered losses in Brussels and in Wallonia, whereas Flemish Vooruit wins and becomes the third party in Flanders.

CD&V, the Flemish Christian democrats, lose a bit and becomes the fourth party, while francophone Les Engagés have made a major comeback. Communist PTB/PVDA has seen its vote increase everywhere in Belgium, and becomes a relevant factor in Belgian politics.

Forming the federal government will probably take several months. For the regional governments, the process should be a lot easier. In Brussels and Wallonia, liberal MR is in the lead, while in Flanders, a government without N-VA taking the lead is impossible.

^{#FlandersNewsService | The winner of the elections in Flanders, N-VA leader Bart De Wever © BELGA PHOTO DIRK WAEM}