Although the parties trying to form the Brussels Government did not reach an agreement on Monday, some have said that the formation can now happen "very quickly." What is the latest state of play?
After weeks of bilateral talks, Brussels informators Elke Van den Brandt (Groen) and Christophe De Beukelaer (Les Engagés) have identified seven parties who could form the new Regional Government.
On the French-speaking side, it concerns liberal MR, socialist PS, and centrist Les Engagés. On the Dutch-speaking side, they brought together green Groen, socialist Vooruit, liberal Open VLD, and Christian Democrat CD&V, leaving out the controversial Flemish right-wing N-VA.
All seven met for the first time as possible coalition partners on Monday, but they left without an agreement. A new meeting will follow at noon on Wednesday but without Open VLD.
On Wednesday morning, the Flemish liberals said they would not return to the table. The Flemish majority of Groen, N-VA, Open VLD, and Vooruit was swept off the table "without any clear reason and without any prospect of a better Brussels," said Open VLD negotiator Frédéric De Gucht.
Swapping one problem for another?
While swapping N-VA for CD&V resolves the problem of PS' veto against the Flemish nationalists, it creates a different issue as Open VLD has made it clear they would only enter the coalition on the condition of N-VA's participation.
Additionally, federal leader of CD&V Sammy Mahdi said that his party would not join the Brussels Government without a government position – complicating the situation even further, as there are only three ministerial posts to divide between four parties on the Dutch-speaking side. While Open VLD had previously said that it would settle for a government commissioner if that would help solve the political deadlock, Mahdi stressed that C&V will not do the same.
After the meeting on Monday, De Gucht still insisted on N-VA's presence. He stated that the Brussels Government must cooperate with both the Flemish and Federal Governments, both of which are led by N-VA.
As a result, it is unsure whether and how a solution will be found. Still, Federal PS leader Paul Magnette is optimistic, he said on Tuesday morning.
Groen's Elke Van Den Brandt and Les Engagés' Christophe De Beukelaer. Credit: Belga/Hatim Kaghat
"I am happy that after nine months we finally have a solution ... as good as," Magnette said. "We think this coalition is possible. We have a stable majority on both French-speaking and Dutch-speaking sides. Five of the seven parties already agree. I hope the other two – MR and Open VLD – will also agree."
However, MR leader Georges-Louis Bouchez made it clear he wants to see a "pre-formation round" first, before his party's former formator David Leisterh (MR) officially takes over. After more than eight months of trying to form a new Regional Government, Leisterh threw in the towel at the end of February.
According to the Belgian system, the party that won the second-most votes should then have the opportunity to lead a new round of conversations. In this case, that would be PS, but the party refused to speak to N-VA.
Now however, PS' Magnette is convinced the coalition proposed by Van den Brandt and De Beukelaer can be formed "very quickly." Whether that means he hopes De Gucht will change his mind on Wednesday remains to be seen.
Open VLD emphasised that further negotiations "only make sense if previous agreements are respected, guarantees are given and there is no dictate from PS," he said. "The ball is in the court of the parties that are prepared to blow up the laboriously formed Dutch-speaking majority, while Open VLD has already made considerable concessions to reach a solution."
If no solution is found, the parties will have to start from scratch.
