The federal elections, however, have upset the political balance between the coalition partners – CD&V, N-VA and SP.A. The nationalist N-VA, which used to be relatively small, has grown to become Flanders’ number one party. This strengthens its position and boosts the confidence of its Flemish ministers Geert Bourgeois and Philippe Muyters.

Ironically, both resigned last week, so they could take the oath as members of the federal parliament, only to be sworn in again as Flemish ministers the next day. The party president Bart De Wever, a Roman scholar, has so far failed to come up with one of his famous Latin quotes to explain away these sudden career changes.

The Christian Democrats (CD&V), meanwhile, suffered huge losses in the federal elections and now look to Flemish minister president Kris Peeters (CD&V) for leadership. Peeters, too, will be the final judge of a federal agreement on state reform. The socialist SP.A still runs a (small) risk of being left out of the federal government, not a happy prospect. Moreover, the Antwerp mayor Patrick Janssens (SP.A) feels threatened by the immense popularity of his fellow Antwerpenaar De Wever.

Aside from all these tactical matters, there is also an issue that looms on the horizon. In March, the Flemish government came up with a so-called “double conclusion” on the divisive issue of the Antwerp Oosterweel crossing. To the great relief of the socialists, it opted for a tunnel rather than a viaduct. Unless, that is, a tunnel proves to be too difficult or too expensive to build. By the end of the summer, a final decision based on studies is expected. The word is that the socialists are becoming nervous at the possible outcome of the studies. Anything but a tunnel would be a major defeat for SP.A and Patrick Janssens, who played a vigorous part in the Antwerp referendum on this matter. CD&V and N-VA on the other hand were never fans of the tunnel scenario.

That means there may be some stormy weather ahead for the Flemish government. Did anyone mention a bridge over troubled waters?