King Filip refuses De Wever's resignation and sends Belgian budget talks back to the table

A refused resignation and a fresh start

Belgian King Filip refused the resignation that Prime Minister Bart De Wever had offered about a week before the palace statement of Friday, 6 November. The palace asked for the budget negotiations to resume immediately. According to the palace, all five government party leaders confirmed that they still want an agreement. De Wever will report back to the King on 16 November, but the palace did not say whether that date is a final deadline.

The palace said each leader had pledged the same approach to the talks.

“Each party leader has committed to prioritising compromise and a sense of responsibility in order to achieve this.”

The formal commitment to concessions has not yet been matched by movement on substance. The positions of the coalition parties barely shifted during the week of consultations at the palace. De Wever must again run the budget on provisional twelfths, a method he had said he would not accept, and he does so for the second time.

A new format for the talks

For the first time, each vice-premier may bring one extra person to the meeting with the prime minister. The change opens the door for MR chair Georges-Louis Bouchez, who had asked for negotiations between party presidents, to sit at the table. Vice-Premier David Clarinval of the MR was due to attend from Monday, 9 November, and Bouchez could accompany him, though his party had not revealed whether it would do so. The other party presidents are not expected to come and will likely send a chief of staff or another collaborator, since they trust their representatives in government. The precise agenda has not been published. Individual talks are also planned for Tuesday, 10 November, after which De Wever wants to take stock before deciding when the restricted committee can meet in full.

That full meeting may have to wait until at least the weekend of 14 and 15 November, because the prime minister is expected at European summits on Thursday, 12 and Friday, 13 November.

Positions have barely moved

Vooruit and Les Engagés still want the 'strongest shoulders' to contribute to reducing the deficit, so that workers and pensioners do not carry the burden alone. MR chair Bouchez, meanwhile, keeps to the coalition agreement, and the MR continues to oppose a larger contribution from the broadest shoulders. Yvan Verougstraete, chair of Les Engagés, made the same argument in De Tijd.

“To make the exercise fair, everyone must make an effort. And then we look at the people with the strongest shoulders.”

The gap between the parties therefore remains on the question of who pays. The five leaders have promised to make concessions, but no concession on this point has been announced.

Opposition calls for elections

The opposition is targeting De Wever directly. Tom Van Grieken of Vlaams Belang and Paul Magnette of the PS are demanding elections, arguing that if politicians cannot settle the budget, the matter should go back to voters. Their demand puts pressure on the coalition at the same moment the King has asked for talks to resume. Whether the 16 November report becomes a final deadline remains unclear.

What comes next

De Wever reports to the King on 16 November. The party leaders must show whether their pledges of concessions lead to a deal. A party seen as inflexible would risk looking disloyal to De Wever and to the King, one commentary argued. The answer from the parties is expected at the weekend of 14 and 15 November, and the talks continue with the vice-premiers early in the week.