Belgium's government formation: Seven months and counting
What seemed like a straightforward task after Belgium's federal elections in June has turned into a political headache. Seven months on, the country is still without a new federal government and the deadline, which has been extended several times, is now the end of January.
On Friday, formateur Bart De Wever of N-VA presented a new socio-economic "supernote", a critical proposal designed to push forward coalition talks between the N-VA, Vooruit, CD&V, MR and Les Engagés. These negotiations resumed in full force over the weekend in the hope of breaking the political deadlock.
De Wever has already visited King Philippe 17 times as part of the formation process, and the monarch has extended his mandate until 31 January. If no government has been formed by then, Belgium could go to the polls again.
That's what Vlaams Belang leader Tom Van Grieken suggested in an interview with De Zondag. The leader of the far-right party accused Bart De Wever of "seven months of lies and deception" as the deadline for forming a government continues to slip.
Budget on hold
In the absence of a fully functioning government, Belgium currently has no official budget. Since 1 January, the country has been operating under a system of provisional twelfths, which limits government spending each month to one twelfth of the previous year's budget.
This provisional budget is due to expire on 31 March, but the outgoing government is now seeking to extend it until the end of June. Even if the parties reach an agreement by the end of January, outgoing prime minister Alexander De Croo of Open VLD warned in parliament on Thursday that it would be "impossible" to pass the new budget before the March deadline.
A history of long formations
Belgium already holds the world record for the longest government formation. It took 541 days to form Elio Di Rupo's government after the 13 June 2010 elections, with a succession of informateurs, preformateurs, mediators and finally Di Rupo himself needed to complete the process. In the meantime, the caretaker government of Yves Leterme remained in office.
The previous De Croo government took 494 days to form after the last general election. For now, all eyes are on 31 January to see if the new government is a reality.
N-VA leader Bart De Wever and King Philippe after a meeting at the Royal Palace in Brussels, 7 January 2025 © BELGA PHOTO ERIC LALMAND