Last week began on an optimistic note, as formateur Elio Di Rupo, of the socialist PS, the winner on the French speaking side, produced a formal proposal to shape a government. Before this, Di Rupo had been sulking for months, as an earlier attempt failed last year, thwarting his hopes of becoming prime minister.

The document he proposed surprised many. Commentators saw Di Rupo behave like a future prime minister for the first time since June 2010. Not only did he come up with a proposal to split the BHV constituency – a taboo to many French speakers – he even suggested a swifter “activation” of the unemployed by making their support digressive – a taboo to his own party.

The outcome, however, did not bring a government any closer. The Flemish nationalist N-VA, winner of the elections in Flanders, fiercely rejected the document, stating that the proposed cuts and revenues would hit its middle class voters excessively. In doing so, N-VA – still in a winning mood, with its leader Bart De Wever now enjoying pop star adoration – not only distanced itself even further from potential coalition partner PS, it also left the other Flemish parties in disarray.

Take the Open VLD liberals. Normally they would be the ones to voice the criticism N-VA did, had they not conditionally agreed to the Di Rupo document earlier. After this, all they could do was to ask for a government without N-VA, the party they had been flirting with for months.

Even more troubled are the Christian democrats. They said neither yes nor no to the Di Rupo note. Instead they awaited N-VA’s no, whereupon they pronounced further talks pointless. In the days that followed, CD&V leaders such as Kris Peeters tried to redress this painful demonstration of his party’s irrelevance, but the damage was done. CD&V seems spineless now, hiding once more behind De Wever’s broad back. All of this leaves the country more divided than ever. The divisions run not just between Flemish and French speakers, but within Flanders itself, where N-VA is reviled as much as loved.