2014 Belgian government formation
Following the simultaneous
The outgoing federal Di Rupo Government consisted of a tripartite of the three traditional "ideological families": Flemish and French-speaking Christian democrats (CD&V/cdH), liberals (Open Vld/MR) and socialists (sp.a/PS).
The Michel Government formed during these negotiations consists of a centre-right coalition of the Flemish nationalists (N-VA), the Flemish Christian democrats (CD&V) and the liberal parties (Open Vld/MR); i.e. only one party at French-speaking side. The new Flemish Government reflects the same coalition, whereas the Walloon and French Community Governments are made up of the PS and cdH, main centre-left parties that now became opposition at federal level.
Overview
Government | Outgoing coalition | Next coalition | Sworn in | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Federal Government
|
Di Rupo | Flemish side cdH
|
Michel | Flemish side N-VA CD&V Open Vld French side MR |
11 October 2014 | |
Flemish Government | Peeters II | CD&V sp.a N-VA |
Bourgeois | N-VA CD&V Open Vld |
25 July 2014 | |
Walloon Government
|
Demotte II | PS Ecolo cdH |
Demotte III Magnette |
PS cdH |
22 July 2014 | |
Brussels Government
|
Vervoort I | French side PS cdH Ecolo Flemish side CD&V Open Vld Groen |
Vervoort II | French side PS FDF cdH Flemish side Open Vld sp.a CD&V |
20 July 2014 | |
German-speaking Community Government | Lambertz III | SP |
Paasch I | ProDG PFF PS |
26/30 June 2014 |
Timeline
Prior to the elections, N-VA expressed its desire to start with the formation of a Flemish Government before a Federal Government, a so-called "confederal logic". Forming regional governments is politically easier. CD&V however stressed the importance of negotiating at both levels in parallel.
Informateur Bart De Wever (N-VA)
On 27 May, two days after the elections, King Philippe nominated Bart De Wever (N-VA) as informateur, meaning he is tasked with finding enough points of agreement for a possible coalition.[1]
Likely federal government coalitions were either a coalition of
On 5 June 2014, the PS and cdH announced, to the surprise of all others, they were starting negotiations to form a Walloon Government. For the French language group in Brussels, PS, cdH and
The following day, N-VA and CD&V announced as a reaction they were starting negotiations for a Flemish Government. Outgoing Minister Geert Bourgeois (N-VA) and outgoing Minister-President Kris Peeters (CD&V) led the negotiations, whereas Bart De Wever continued with his role as federal "informateur".
On 24 June 2014, "informateur" Bart De Wever sent a proposal to CD&V, MR and cdH to serve as a basis for the formation of a centre-right federal government. The text did not include any institutional changes, nor any far-reaching socio-economic reforms which would be unacceptable for French-speaking parties. CD&V and MR responded positively, whereas cdH rejected the text "due to a lack of trust between the parties". The media described cdH leader
Informateur Charles Michel (MR)
The next day, the King relieved De Wever of his task as "informateur".
Meanwhile, regional government formations progressed steadily. The Brussels Government negotiation parties presented their coalition agreement on 14 July, and the Walloon/French Community negotiating parties presented their agreement on 18 July, both before the informal deadline of the National Holiday, 21 July 2014.[5] On 20 July, the new Vervoort Brussels Government was sworn in. The Flemish Government formation however, initially aimed for 11 July (the Flemish Holiday) stalled in part due to the difficult budgetary situation, as well as the uncertainty regarding federal negotiations and disagreements between negotiating parties - the N-VA and CD&V.
On 22 July 2014, the N-VA and CD&V announced they would take Open Vld on board for the Flemish Government negotiations. Open Vld always said they wanted to be either part of both the federal and Flemish governments, or part of neither. The move paved the way for a federal "Swedish coalition" made up of CD&V, N-VA, Open Vld and MR, with outgoing Flemish Minister-President Kris Peeters (CD&V) as possible prime minister. As the King already expected informateur Charles Michel (MR) that day, he relieved him of his task and appointed him and Kris Peeters as formateurs.[6]
Formateurs Kris Peeters (CD&V) and Charles Michel (MR)
This article possibly contains original research. (October 2014) |
Kris Peeters (CD&V) and Charles Michel (MR) prepared a draft, which was presented to the four negotiating parties as a basis for a coalition agreement. Each party has three negotiators:
- Wouter Beke, Koen Geens and Pieter De Crem for CD&V;
- Gwendolyn Rutten, Alexander De Croo and Maggie De Block for Open Vld;
- Didier Reynders, Olivier Chastel and Willy Borsus for MR;
- Bart De Wever and Jan Jambon for N-VA;
- an additional rotating expert negotiator for N-VA, depending on the subject: Johan Van Overtveldt for economy, Theo Francken for asylum and migration, Hendrik Vuye for justice, Steven Vandeput for SMEs and fiscality, Zuhal Demir for labour, Elke Sleurs for poverty reduction and public health, Bert Wollants for energy, Siegfried Bracke for pensions, or Peter Dedecker for government enterprises.[7]
A difficult political issue in the negotiations was the designation of the Belgian member of the
Despite the parties' ideological proximity and the lack of state reform as a topic, the negotiations lasted longer than anticipated. On 7 October 2014, after a round of negotiations of more than 24 hours, the parties finally finalised their
See also
- 2014 Belgian federal election
- 2014 Belgian regional elections
- 2019–2020 Belgian government formation
- 2010–11 Belgian government formation
References
- ^ "Bart De Wever nommé informateur par le Roi". LaLibre.be (in French). 27 May 2014.
- ^ "King relieves De Wever of duties". deredactie.be. 25 May 2014.
- ^ "Vier op de vijf Vlamingen willen geen tripartite". Het Laatste Nieuws. 28 June 2014.
- ^ "Ondernemers willen liever crisis dan tripartite". De Standaard. 30 June 2014.
- ^ "PS en CDH mikken nog steeds op 21 juli". Gazet van Antwerpen. 8 July 2014.
- ^ "Two formateurs to form new centre-right Belgian Government". deredactie.be. 22 July 2014.
- ^ "De kracht van veranderen, Spelen met een roterende ploeg". Doorbraak. 2 October 2014.