After a period of silence, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Open VLD) has responded to President of the European Council Charles Michel's plan to cut his mandate short and refuted the idea of him replacing Michel.
Michel, a former Belgian Prime Minister, announced earlier this month that he would run as a candidate for the European Parliament in the elections in June 2024, leading the French-speaking party MR's list. He would take up his position as an MEP in mid-July, cutting short his current mandate which is supposed to run until 30 November 2024. The decision prompted widespread accusations of self-interest and irresponsibility.
For weeks, speculation has been rife in European circles about who could replace Michel. Besides populist Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban, whose country will hold the rotating Council presidency from 1 July, De Croo's name, among others, is also doing the rounds. Belgium now holds the presidency until the end of June.
De Croo has largely remained silent on the topic until now but has now spoken out about the decision and what part he could play in it. He told VTM News on Sunday that he does not like the idea of becoming temporary president of the European Council when Michel leaves. "It is not up to me to fix this situation," he said, adding that it also not up to him to criticise the choice.
Focus of elections
The end of the Belgian Presidency also marks the start of election time in Belgium. The European, Federal and Regional elections will be held on Sunday 9 June while the 2024 provincial, municipal and district council elections will take place on Sunday 13 October.
De Croo also discussed the elections on VTM News, noting that the socio-economic situation in Belgium should be the priority of the next Federal Government. "A government that cuts our country into pieces and wants to make everything even more complex, that's what I'm afraid of," he said.
He added that the next government will have to use the five years it has to create about 400,000 jobs. "That's what it should be about, not about cutting up our country", referring to the intentions of the right-wing parties such as the nationalist N-VA party, which wants state reform. Currently, De Croo's liberal Open VLD party, however, is not doing well in the polls.
N-VA's party president Bart De Wever this weekend said that if his party gets a majority in the Flemish elections, which based on current polls seems likely, he wants to become Prime Minister of a Federal "mini-cabinet" reflecting the regional majorities. "In Wallonia, I estimate that Ecolo and the PS will again be in government, with possibly Les Engagés, in Flanders it will be a right-wing government as far as I am concerned."
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Far-right party Vlaams Belang's Chair Tom Van Grieken stated on Sunday afternoon in his New Year's speech to the party's executives that he rejected De Wever's idea of forming a business cabinet after the elections and put forward Vlaams Belang as the only alternative.
In turn, the Flemish socialist party Vooruit Chair Melissa Depraetere said during its New Year's reception that she wants to make the fight against the extreme right the stake of the elections, adding that Vooruit is the only party big enough to ensure that N-VA cannot choose Vlaams Belang to govern with. "Only we can prevent waking up in a far-right nightmare after 9 June."
