In formation: Do we have a federal government now, or not?
The answer is yes – albeit temporarily – as a new minority coalition is formed to ensure a quick response to the coronavirus crisis
‘Corona government’
As you may or may not remember, Belgium has been without a majority federal government coalition since the elections last May. Those of you who have lived in Belgium for a while will know that it has been far longer before: In 2011, Belgium broke the world record for the length of time a country went without a federal government.
At issue now are the two biggest parties – nationalists N-VA in Flanders and socialists PS in Wallonia. Their political and ideological differences are simply too great to hammer out a government accord. But as they are clear winners in their respective regions, it is difficult to try to form a coalition government without them.
Quick decisions
Last week, the acting federal government – headed by prime minister Sophie Wilmès (MR), who took over from acting prime minister Charles Michel when he moved on to the post of president of the European Council – formed a minority coalition in order to provide enough structure to handle the Covid-19 crisis in Belgium.
The coalition is made up Wilmès’s French-speaking liberals, Flemish liberals Open VLD and Flemish Christian-democrats CD&V. These are the parties that were part of the former federal government majority coalition, together with nationalists N-VA.
N-VA, however, stepped out of the government in late 2018 over the migration pact, and the remaining minority government has been running things ever since. That government has now been declared official, rather than having an “acting” status.
The government can take decisions without parliamentary approval so that coronavirus regulations can be implemented immediately
This official federal government – dubbed the “corona government” by the media – is temporary, however, meant to last a maximum of six months. After that, government formation talks will continue. Although some political pundits have suggested that this might be the beginning of a permanent government.
It is the first time since the 1970s that Belgium has operated under a minority government, shutting out the largest parties. On top of that, this new official government asked parliament for legislative powers, and parliament approved that request this week.
That means that the government can make decisions without parliamentary approval. This decision was made so that new laws and regulations regarding the coronavirus could be made and implemented immediately.
The government has stressed that it will be using legislative powers in three areas: public health, public order and the economic impact of the coronavirus. For all other issues, it will function as an acting government the way it did before, making limited decisions with parliamentary approval.
The regional governments are, in any case, intrumental in talks about coronavrius regulations and largely responsible for implementing them. Those governments have been firmly in place since last year.
Photo: Dirk Waem/BELGA
