Open Vld's Brussels leader, Frédéric De Gucht, is initiating an effort of his own to form a regional government after dismissing a proposal from facilitator Yvan Verougstraete (Les Engagés).
However, the Parti Socialiste (PS) says it still supports Verougstraete’s plan, which envisions a coalition without the Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie (N-VA).
De Gucht is planning to invite potential coalition partners for bilateral talks, according to the PS, which has reiterated its commitment to Verougstraete’s efforts.
“The Brussels PS firmly supports the coalition model proposed by him and calls on all parties, including Open VLD, to accept the invitation and start negotiating on policy and the budget,” the party said in a press release.
Verougstraete’s proposal, presented on Monday, outlines a seven-party coalition. On the French-speaking side, this would include the Mouvement Réformateur (MR), PS, and Les Engagés, and on the Flemish side, Groen, Vooruit, Open VLD, and Christen Democratisch en Vlaams (CD&V) party.
Under this plan, MR would give up a state secretary role to CD&V, while PS would appoint a French-speaking candidate from the economic sector to fill one of its state secretary posts.
The right-wing N-VA would be a notable exclusion from this government.
De Gucht has rejected the plan outright, comparing it to “something that would make the surrealist, Magritte, jealous.”
The Flemish liberal politician argues that the proposal is not in line with Open VLD’s political priorities, including its insistence on incorporating the N-VA into any majority coalition framework.
Outgoing regional Budget Minister Sven Gatz (Open VLD) revealed earlier on Thursday that De Gucht had made himself available as a mediator and conflict resolver in order to help navigate the tense negotiations.
