The MR and Open VLD announced on Wednesday that they would be forming a joint list for the elections to the Chamber of Deputies in the Brussels-Capital Region.
Three Flemish liberal candidates and a "common programmatic platform", while affirming their desire to link their post-electoral fate to the Federal Government, as well as to the Region.
The list led by former minister Valérie Glatigny will include Federal Secretary of State for the Budget Alexia Bertrand (Open VLD, ex-MR) in 4th place, while Federal MP Michel De Maegd (MR) will be in 2nd place, ahead of Brussels ex-PTB MP Youssef Handichi (MR).
"This has always been my wish, I'm a bridge-builder, and here we're going even further, it's a united Liberal family", Bertrand told a press conference.
The number of Open VLD candidates on this joint list will be three, with the identity of the other two Dutch speakers to be revealed later, along with the rest of the list. This figure reflects the proportion of Dutch speakers in the Brussels Region, according to MR president Georges-Louis Bouchez, who insists that Ms Bertrand will be given an eligible place.
The French-speaking Liberals currently hold three seats in Brussels and are hoping to win a fourth, given the additional seat allocated to this constituency in the next election.
The MR president and his Open VLD counterpart Tom Ongena had requested the presence of Prime Minister Alexander De Croo to make the announcement in a prestigious establishment on Brussels' Grand Place, opposite the town hall that saw the founding of the Liberal Party in 1846.
MR leader Georges-Louis Bouchez, Francoise Bertiaux and Valerie Glatigny. Credit: Belga / Hatim Kaghat
"We need to give Brussels back its place at the political table, with leading figures. If we want a strong country, we need a strong Brussels", said Mr De Croo. Bouchez added: "There is a strong image of the Belgium project, and a desire to work together in the federal and Brussels governments.
The two parties have been working on a "common platform" in recent months. Convergences relate in particular to energy issues ("nuclear-renewable mix"), socio-economic issues (tax cuts, reduction in public spending, increase in the employment rate) and defence and security issues, on which the two parties have already taken similar positions.
"There are still a few differences that have to do with regional realities, but for the rest, we are moving forward together", added Bouchez, describing the two parties as "Siamese twins".
As for the tensions between Bouchez and De Croo that marked the end of the legislature, they were due to the difference in roles between a party leader who has to assert his line and a head of government who has to make compromises, to which Bouchez replied, while De Croo defended the Vivaldi record.
Under the current legislature, MR and Open VLD are both in the Federal Government, but the Flemish Liberals have taken over the Brussels Government in 2019 without their French-speaking colleagues. They are now all saying that they want to join the Brussels government together, said regional list leader David Leisterh (MR).
"We are sending a very clear signal to potential partners: this is the liberal family in its entirety. So if some want to throw one of us out, the other will make sure to bring him back in", insisted Bouchez.
Former Belgian PM Sophie Wilmès will lead MR in the European elections.
