Belgian government formation close to collapse after MR rejects final proposal

MR leader Georges-Louis Bouchez has rejected formateur Bart De Wever's final proposal for the formation of Belgium's next federal government. This was reported by HLN and confirmed to Belga. De Wever is expected at the Royal Palace later on Thursday. It is not yet clear whether he will continue as formateur.

The formation of a government stalled on Sunday night over the introduction of a capital gains tax on shares. The socialist Vooruit party does not want to join a government without it, while the liberal MR party finds the measure unacceptable.

De Wever tried to iron out the differences in bilateral talks on Wednesday. But that did not lead to a breakthrough, and the meeting ended after only half an hour of consultations between the negotiators on Wednesday night.

No physical talks

There were no more physical consultations on Thursday: De Wever stuck to bilateral talks by telephone. A source confirmed to Belga that it was Bouchez who rejected De Wever's final proposal. The MR leader is said to be thinking about counter-proposals, but according to a negotiator, not much is expected of them.

It is not yet clear how the government formation process will continue. De Wever is expected to meet King Philippe of Belgium at 8pm tonight at the palace. He could ask for another extension of his mandate as formateur, as he did on Monday, or hand in his resignation.

European deadlines

After a promising start, Bouchez's rejection is a major blow to De Wever's plan to form a government by 20 September. Without a government, Belgium also risks missing looming European deadlines.

For example, Belgium is one of the few member states not to have nominated its candidate for the post of European Commissioner. It has until 30 August to do so. The European Commission also expects a plan on how Belgium will tackle its growing budget deficit by 20 September.

^{© BELGA PHOTO ERIC LALMAND}

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