Les Engagés pushes for centre-left majority without MR in Brussels
Les Engagés leader Yvan Verougstraete says he will try to form a centre-left majority in Brussels without francophone liberal party MR. In a letter to the people of Brussels, he said he intended to open talks with Groen, Vooruit, CD&V, PS, Ecolo, DéFI, Les Engagés and, at a later stage, Open VLD.
Verougstraete did not single out any party for the failure to form a government with the MR, but said it was "pure madness" to "try the same thing a thousand times in the hope of a different result". He called a centre-left minority the "most realistic" option and said he hoped to bring Open VLD on board later "on the basis of a serious budget trajectory".
From Friday and throughout the weekend, bilateral meetings are planned with party leaders, as well as talks with social partners, the administration and civil society. Thematic discussions with stakeholders are expected to begin next week, with the aim of "building together an ambitious project for Brussels".
In his open letter, Verougstraete also outlined guiding principles, including that Brussels must improve its budget trajectory by "at least a billion euros". He wants to work in parallel on both a budget and a government, and aims to start negotiations in early January, he told regional broadcaster BX1 on Thursday.
Success is far from certain
It is not clear if Verougstraete will manage to convince centrist parties. While CD&V will join the talks, leader Sammy Mahdi was quick to tell VRT that his party was ruling out a coalition without MR. He also called Verougstraete's plan "a waste of time".
The centre-right Open VLD also reacted with apprehension to the proposal. "With MR around the table we already failed to reach an agreement on the budget and the necessary savings, so we see little reason why it would succeed now," leader Frédéric De Gucht wrote on X.
"You cannot just brush aside the winner of the elections"
It also remains to be seen if the plan will impact the relationship between MR and Les Engagés, which are coalition partners in both the federal and Walloon government. MR leader Georges-Louis Bouchez warned that the move would have consequences. "You cannot just brush aside the winner of the elections," he told De Standaard. "I cannot allow people to insult, indeed humiliate, my party in this way."
Verougstraete stressed that continuing without MR was not his preferred scenario. "It is not a choice of the heart, but a choice of reason," he told BX1. He added that he did not expect reprisals from MR.
Les Engages leader Yvan Verougstraete speaks to the press © BELGA PHOTO JONAS ROOSENS
Related news
