Ecolo Federation Council gave a green light for the opening of negotiations with the PS on the drafting of a basic text for Wallonia and Wallonia-Brussels governmental statements, indicated the Francophone Greens after the meeting on Friday.
"... We are at a climate, ecological, social and democratic turning point. The disenchantment with politics is very strong. The signals sent by the population show that they want a different way of doing politics. They also go clearly in the direction for ecology and solidarity," the environmentalist representative said in a statement.
Taking into account this triple perspective, the Federation Council has mandated Zakia Khattabi, Jean-Marc Nollet, Stéphane Hazee and Barbara Trachte to "start negotiations with the Socialist Party for a Wallonia and Wallonia-Brussels document that outlines the central axes of ambitious statements on government policy, which reflect as far as possible our commitment to a united democratic and ecological transition."
Still according to the francophone ecologist, the Federation Council specifically asked that during this procedure these documents be the subject of "an extensive consultation with the civil society and ultimately that all concerned members be invited to indicate whether they are willing to support a government formed on this basis."
Earlier in the day, the PS Bureau had officially requested Ecolo to "enter into negotiations" with them in view of “writing a basic note", in Wallonia and in the Federation Wallonia-Brussels, that would map out "the central axes of a government policy statement". The PS already stated for their part that during the preparation of the basic note, it would be the subject of "an extensive consultation with civil society."
Following the approval of environmentalists, PS and Ecolo could find themselves at the table in Wallonia on Monday and the civil society consultation could begin by the end of next week.
Even if it is not formally on the agenda, the question of the formation of a PS-Ecolo minority government, enforced by civil society support, was discussed at the PS Bureau on Friday. PS Council members generally agreed that it would be more comfortable to govern with a majority. However, they stress the case of minority governments operating increasingly abroad.
The Brussels Times
