There is no question of forming a government in Brussels with Team Fouad Ahidar, MR leader Georges-Louis Bouchez reiterated on Thursday.
The liberal leader threatened to use "constitutional creativity" to prevent the political situation in Brussels from remaining completely deadlocked. "Elke Van den Brandt (Groen) should stop complaining," he said, interviewed on the VRT television programme Villa Politica.
The formation of the Brussels government is at an impasse. On the French-speaking side, a majority is emerging between MR, PS and Les Engagés, but on the Flemish side, there is no prospect of a coalition, and therefore no prospect of a Brussels Government.
Things have become even more complicated since the three French-speaking parties tabled a proposal in Parliament to postpone by two years the tightening of the LEZ, which is at the centre of the greens' political programme.
In the meantime, Van den Brandt has thrown in the towel as a Dutch-speaking formator, believing that the MR wants nothing more than Groen’s support without any political concessions to the Dutch-speaking Greens, particularly in the area of mobility.
Team Fouad Ahidar therefore has the negotiating levers on the Dutch-speaking side for some time to come. Ahidar is attempting to form a majority with Vooruit and Groen, but he is subject to several vetoes from potential partners (including the Liberals, the N-VA and the Engagés).
Georges-Louis Bouchez is not impressed. "Van den Brandt should stop moaning and come back to the table," he told Villa Politica in the corridors of the Federal Parliament.
If not, the MR will take other initiatives in Parliament on mobility, he added, having previously threatened to do the same with regard to the Good Move mobility plan, another hobbyhorse of the Greens.
To hear him tell it, the French-speaking Liberals have no intention of putting the pause button on the postponement of the LEZ. "We are not going to make a move because Mrs Van den Brandt is complaining," he said.
"If the Greens want to plunge Brussels into crisis, we may have to be constitutionally creative. We can’t leave Brussels totally blocked with Mrs Van den Brandt crying on one side and Fouad Ahidar on the other (…) Necessity dictates the law at some point. We’re not going to give in to pressure and we’ll look at alternatives for as long as this continues. However, Mr Bouchez stressed that he did not want to govern Brussels without the Flemish.
"We will respect the rules," he said. "I understand that Mrs Van den Brandt does not want to return to the negotiating table before the municipal elections. I hope that she will come to her senses from 14 October," he concluded.
