Elections 2024: MR and Les Engagés to form Walloon government
MR and Les Engagés, the big winners of the elections in French-speaking Belgium, will jointly negotiate the formation of the new Walloon government. They are also joining forces at the federal level and in Brussels, leaders Georges-Louis Bouchez and Maxime Prévot said at a joint press conference on Tuesday.
Liberals MR gained 29.6 per cent of the vote in the Walloon elections, while the centre-right and socially liberal party Les Engagés took 20.7 per cent. Together they gained 43 seats, while only 38 are needed for a majority.
Bouchez had previously stated that government formation could happen quickly, and he repeated this on Tuesday. "We must form a government as quickly as possible,” he said. "We must not lose ourselves in absurd talks. There is genuine enthusiasm and we must not lose momentum. That is why we are already here before you 48 hours after the elections to announce the formation of the Walloon government. That has never been done before."
This will only be the third Walloon government without socialists PS. Leader Paul Magnette announced on Monday that his party would go into the opposition at all levels – although the situation is more complicated in Brussels.
PS has clarified that it does not want to block government formation in Brussels and is open to negotiations. MR is also now the largest party in the capital and is therefore also in the driving seat for government formation there.
MR leader Georges-Louis Bouchez and Les Engagés leader Maxime Prévot © BELGA PHOTO ERIC LALMAND
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