Following the simultaneous federal elections and regional elections of 25 May 2014, negotiations started to form a new Federal Government as well as new regional governments: a Flemish, Walloon, French Community and Brussels Government. A Government of the German-speaking Community was formed only a few days after the elections.
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.
Government | Outgoing coalition | Next coalition | Sworn in | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Federal Government | Di Rupo | Flemish side CD&V Open Vld sp.a French side PS MR 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 | |
French Community Government 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 PFF ProDG | Paasch I | ProDG PFF PS | 26/30 June 2014 |
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.
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 N-VA, CD&V, Open Vld and MR, cdH, or a continuation of the current tripartite Di Rupo Government (CD&V, Open Vld, sp.a and PS, MR, cdH). That last coalition now had a majority support among Flemish parties, which was not the case during the Di Rupo Government. The first possibility (with N-VA and without PS/sp.a) would not have a majority among Francophone parties. Majorities in language groups are not required, but politically preferred.
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 FDF would form a government. Parallel to this, for the Dutch language group in Brussels, Open Vld, CD&V and sp.a agreed to form a coalition. However, upon learning that FDF would be part of the French-speaking coalition, Open Vld and CD&V refused to cooperate. Later, the two parties dropped their concerns, and continued negotiations.
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 Benoît Lutgen as "Monsieur Non", referencing former cdH leader Joëlle Milquet who was nicknamed "Madame Non" in the 2007 government formation.
The next day, the King relieved De Wever of his task as "informateur". [2] The King then held consultations with the leaders of the main parties, and on 27 June 2014, he nominated Charles Michel (MR) as "informateur". Due to the cdH's rejection of a centre-right coalition, all options were open, but each possibility posed a number of difficulties. PS, the largest French-speaking party, preferred a continuation of the tripartite Di Rupo Government, a scenario rejected by a majority of the Flemish population and businesses. [3] [4] Another possibility was a "kamikaze coalition" or "Swedish coalition", whereby MR would be the only French-speaking party in a coalition with N-VA, CD&V and Open Vld. As "informateur", Charles Michel talked with party leaders as well as employers' organizations, trade unions and other stakeholders. On 4 July 2014, the King extended his task for ten days, and on 14 July he extended his task until 22 July.
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]
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:
A difficult political issue in the negotiations was the designation of the Belgian member of the Juncker Commission being formed. CD&V insisted on proposing Marianne Thyssen, a member of the European Parliament and the candidate preferred by Jean-Claude Juncker as they are from the same party and the Commission needs more female members. However, Kris Peeters was expected to become the next Prime Minister, giving CD&V the two most important political posts, which is unacceptable to the other parties. MR in its turn insisted on proposing Didier Reynders as European Commissioner. After long negotiations the parties ultimately agreed to propose Marianne Thyssen, with the Prime Minister to be a liberal (MR or Open Vld). This was eventually agreed to be Charles Michel. His party, MR, will already get half of the ministers due to the Constitution requiring an equal number of Dutch- and French-speaking ministers. As a fluent Dutch speaker, unlike his predecessor, Elio Di Rupo, barriers to his appointment on language grounds were unfounded.
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 coalition agreement and confirmed that Charles Michel will be head of government.
The minister-president of Flanders is the head of the Flemish Government, which is the executive branch of the Flemish Region and Flemish Community.
The Federal Government of Belgium exercises executive power in the Kingdom of Belgium. It consists of ministers and secretary of state drawn from the political parties which form the governing coalition. The federal government is led by the prime minister of Belgium, and ministers lead ministries of the government. Ministers together form the Council of Ministers, which is the supreme executive organ of the government.
Federal elections were held in Belgium on 10 June 2007. Voters went to the polls in order to elect new members for the Chamber of Representatives and Senate.
The 2007–2008 Belgian government formation followed the general election of 10 June 2007, and comprised a period of negotiation in which the Flemish parties Flemish Liberal Democratic, Christian Democratic and Flemish (CD&V) and New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), and the French-speaking parties Reformist Movement (MR), Democratic Front of Francophones (FDF) and Humanist Democratic Centre (CdH) negotiated to form a government coalition. The negotiations were characterized by the disagreement between the Dutch- and French-speaking parties about the need for and nature of a constitutional reform. According to some, this political conflict could have led to a partition of Belgium.
The 2007–2011 Belgian political crisis was a period of tense communal relations and political instability in Belgium, which was rooted in the differing opinions on state reform, and in the continued existence of the controversial electoral district of Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde (BHV). Parties from the Dutch-speaking Flemish Community are in general strongly in favour for a devolution of powers to the communities and regions, and the splitting of the unconstitutional BHV district, while French-speaking French Community of Belgium is generally in favour of retaining the status quo. After the 2010 elections, the topics of public debt, deficit cuts and socio-economic reform were added to the debate, with most Flemish parties in favour of finding money by strongly reducing spending, whilst the proposals supported by most French-speaking parties also included a significant raise in taxes. The crisis came to an end in December 2011 with the inauguration of a new federal government which agreed on partition of the BHV district and on policies aimed at tackling the economic downturn. The country's continuing linguistic divide played a large part in the crisis. Several times during the period Belgium was threatened to be split up amid rising Flemish separatism.
Federal elections were held in Belgium on 13 June 2010, during the midst of the 2007-11 Belgian political crisis. After the fall of the previous Leterme II Government over the withdrawal of Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats from the government the King dissolved the legislature and called new elections. The New Flemish Alliance, led by Bart De Wever, emerged as the plurality party with 27 seats, just one more than the francophone Socialist Party, led by Elio Di Rupo, which was the largest party in the Wallonia region and Brussels. It took a world record 541 days until a government was formed, resulting in a government led by Di Rupo.
Following the Belgian general election held on 13 June 2010, a process of cabinet formation started in Belgium. The election produced a very fragmented political landscape, with 11 parties elected to the Chamber of Representatives, none of which won more than 20% of the seats. The Flemish-Nationalist New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), the largest party in Flanders and the country as a whole, controlled 27 of 150 seats in the lower chamber. The Francophone Socialist Party (PS), the largest in Wallonia, controlled 26 seats. Cabinet negotiations continued for a long time. On 1 June 2011, Belgium matched the record for time taken to form a new democratic government after an election, at 353 days, held until then by Cambodia in 2003–2004. On 11 October 2011, the final agreement for institutional reform was presented to the media. A government coalition was named on 5 December 2011 and sworn in after a total of 541 days of negotiations and formation on 6 December 2011, and 589 days without an elected government with Elio Di Rupo named Prime Minister of the Di Rupo I Government.
The Belgian provincial, municipal and district elections of 2012 took place on 14 October. As with the previous 2006 elections, these are no longer organised by the Belgian federal state but instead by the respective regions:
The Di Rupo Government was the federal cabinet of Belgium sworn in on 6 December 2011, after a record-breaking 541 days of negotiations following the June 2010 elections. The government included social democrats (sp.a/PS), Christian democrats (CD&V/cdH) and liberals, respectively of the Dutch and French language groups. The government notably excluded the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), the Flemish nationalist party which achieved a plurality and became the largest party. Its absence, together with the unwillingness of Open Vld to enter into an eight-party coalition that included the green parties, caused the government coalition to lack a majority in the Dutch language group. It was the first time that the Belgian prime minister had been openly gay, as Di Rupo became the world's first male openly gay head of government. Elio Di Rupo also became the first native French-speaking prime minister since 1979 and the first prime minister from Wallonia since 1974 and first socialist prime minister since 1974.
The sixth state reform in the federal kingdom of Belgium is the result after the 2010–2011 Belgian government formation, with 541 days of negotiations, the longest ever in Belgium and possibly the world. The agreement was made among the Christian-democratic CD&V and cdH, social-democratic sp.a and PS, liberal Open Vld and MR and ecologist Groen! and Ecolo, each respectively a Flemish and French-speaking party. The first six parties, therefore not including the green parties, then formed the Di Rupo I Government. The Flemish nationalist party New Flemish Alliance, which became the largest after the 2010 elections, is notably not part of the agreement nor of the government coalition.
Federal elections were held in Belgium on 25 May 2014. All 150 members of the Chamber of Representatives were elected, whereas the Senate was no longer directly elected following the 2011–2012 state reform. These were the first elections held under King Philippe's reign.
Regional elections were held in Belgium on 25 May 2014 to choose representatives for the Flemish Parliament, Walloon Parliament, Brussels Parliament and the Parliament of the German-speaking Community. These elections were held on the same day as the 2014 European elections as well as the 2014 Belgian federal election.
The Bourgeois Government (Regering-Bourgeois) was the Flemish Government formed following the 2014 Flemish Parliament election. The cabinet consisted of a centre-right coalition of the nationalist New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), the Christian Democratic and Flemish party (CD&V) and the Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats. It had a large majority in the Flemish Parliament and the main opposition parties were the Socialist Party (sp.a), which had been part of nearly all previous governments in recent history, and the Green party.
The Michel I Government was the Federal Government of Belgium formed following the 2014 Belgian government formation and sworn in on 11 October 2014. The administration was a centre-right coalition of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), the Christian Democratic and Flemish (CD&V), the Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats and the Reformist Movement (MR). The prime minister was Charles Michel. The government had an agenda of socio-economic reforms, especially through austerity measures, with its priorities being improving Belgium's economic competitiveness and reducing unemployment. It fell in December 2018 over the Global Compact for Migration.
Federal elections were held in Belgium on 26 May 2019, alongside the country's European and regional elections. All 150 members of the Chamber of Representatives were elected from eleven multi-member constituencies.
The Belgian provincial, municipal and district elections of 2018 took place on Sunday 14 October 2018. They are organised by the respective regions:
The 2019 Belgian regional elections took place on Sunday 26 May, the same day as the 2019 European Parliament election as well as the Belgian federal election.
The Michel II Government was the Federal Government of Belgium, led by Prime Minister Charles Michel from 18 December 2018 until 27 October 2019 when it was succeeded by the Wilmès I Government. It was a centre minority coalition cabinet of Christian Democratic and Flemish (CD&V), the Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats and the Reformist Movement (MR). On 26 October 2019, it was announced that Sophie Wilmès would take over the role of Prime Minister from Michel on 1 November 2019, and form a new government.
In Belgium, the government formation of 2019–2020 started one day after the federal elections, regional elections and European elections which were all held simultaneously on 26 May 2019. These formations were only the second under King Philippe.