The left’s uneasy place in De Wever’s coalition
The summer agreement may have been a political win for prime minister Bart De Wever, but it comes at a steep price for Flemish socialists Vooruit. The party is forced to defend reforms that clash with its core values. It leaves them exposed to union anger, voter frustration and a coalition increasingly tilted to the right.
There was a euphoric mood when the De Wever government finally reached a summer agreement, just hours before Belgium’s national holiday on 21 July.
The prime minister didn’t hold back, calling the deal “the biggest socio-economic reform of the century”. Quoting Churchill, he added: “This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”
The coalition parties - spanning Flemish nationalists, liberals, Christian democrats and one leftist party - closed ranks in defence of the agreement. But not all emerged unscathed. In particular, Vooruit, the Flemish socialists, have borne the brunt of the backlash.
Despite describing the agreement as “historic”, party leader Conner Rousseau quickly found himself under siege from trade unions and disillusioned voters.
“For employers, this may indeed be the biggest reform in a century,” said Bert Engelaer, chair of socialist trade union ABVV. “But for workers, this is the most far-reaching rollback in the past hundred years.”
Social policy
Vooruit’s place in the coalition has always been difficult. With its French-speaking counterpart, PS, absent from the federal government, Vooruit stands alone as the only left-leaning party at the table.
Entering such a coalition could only be justified if it allowed the party to push through meaningful social policy. “The social struggle isn’t fought only in the streets, but also within government,” Rousseau said in response to early criticism from labour unions.
“For workers, this is the most far-reaching rollback in the past hundred years”
But securing concrete wins has proved difficult so far. Knowing that pension and labour market reforms would be difficult to swallow for many of its voters, Vooruit sought to leave its mark on more symbolic dossiers, including healthcare, tax justice, and particularly a capital gains tax, long a priority for the left.
Meagre results
Months of strikes, from rail workers to prison guards, only added pressure. Yet the results have been meagre.
The agreed capital gains tax, concluded in June, was a victory for the party, and so were the cuts to doctors’ wage supplements. Vooruit also insists it managed to “round off the sharpest edges” of the reform package, but its electorate, and especially the unions, remain unconvinced.
The government has no budgetary margin left to sweeten the deal for the socialists. One of Vooruit’s key demands, real wage increases, has proved to be too difficult. In the end, the coalition could only offer a modest rise in meal vouchers, from 8 to 10 euros. Meanwhile, Belgium’s fiscal position is deteriorating rapidly.
That means new savings are unavoidable. The government is expected to reopen its coalition agreement in the autumn to negotiate additional spending cuts. For Vooruit, the risk of alienating key voter blocs is very real.
Meanwhile, more union protests are already on the horizon. The Christian union ACV has announced a “career march” in mid-October, while ABVV continues to rally against what it calls “the biggest social dismantling in decades”.
#FlandersNewsService | Vooruit leader Conner Rousseau © BELGA PHOTO JONAS ROOSENS
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