"The situation is tense; anything else would be untrue," said Maxime Prévot (Les Engagés), Minister of Foreign Affairs, during an interview on BelRTL on Thursday morning, following the failure of the Arizona coalition to agree on the budget.
The coalition is struggling to agree on plans that aim to secure an economic effort to save at least €10 billion over the coming years, according to Prime Minister Bart De Wever.
While Prévot did not rule out a complete collapse of the government, he remains hopeful for a positive resolution. "Our duty is to work towards a solution," he said.
Prévot stressed that his principal concern lies with addressing the growing national debt. He emphasised the importance of implementing fiscal reform to safeguard the welfare state, adding that framing austerity measures as necessary solely to fund defence purchases like the F-35 jets is “grotesque.”
According to him, the root issue is decades of overspending beyond the country's financial means.
The Vice-Prime Minister also criticised the Reformist Movement (MR) party, albeit without directly naming it.
"You can't say on TV that efforts of €20 billion are needed, and then refuse to accept the measures to achieve them during negotiations," he said.
He acknowledged that any measures adopted would likely be unpopular, with options such as increasing VAT or revisiting wage indexation, ideas that liberal parties have rejected, causing significant political friction.
A restricted cabinet meeting on Wednesday afternoon ended without consensus among the Arizona coalition on crafting a multi-year budget plan to stabilise public finances.
Prévot confirmed on Thursday that bilateral talks would resume on Friday before continuing into the weekend to seek an agreement.
He noted that the critical deadline is early next week, on Monday or Tuesday, as failing to reach an agreement by then would make it logistically impossible to approve the budget in parliament before the end of the year.
However, Prévot downplayed the urgency, stating that temporary "provisional twelfths" could be implemented instead, though this solution would delay the adoption of new policies.
When asked whether the political crisis could benefit Flemish nationalists or serve a "hidden agenda" of Prime Minister Bart De Wever, Prévot dismissed such speculation.
"That would be a harsh accusation," he stated, adding that De Wever has genuinely embraced his role as Prime Minister and is committed to restoring Belgium's financial stability.
