Five Belgian parties struck a coalition deal on Friday to form a new government headed by the Flemish conservative Bart De Wever, after more than seven months of tortuous negotiations.
The agreement paves the way for De Wever to become the first nationalist from the Dutch-speaking Flanders region to be Belgian premier – although in recent years he has backed off on calls for it to become an independent country.
De Wever channelled Julius Caesar by posting the Latin message “Alea iacta est! [the die is cast]” on social media alongside a picture of him shaking hands with Belgium’s King Philippe.
The royal palace confirmed an accord for a right-leaning coalition, which still has to be formally signed off by members of the participating parties.
Split between French- and Dutch-speaking communities, and with a highly complex political system, Belgium has an unenviable record of painfully protracted coalition discussions – reaching 541 days back in 2010-2011.
This time around, five groups have been seeking to forge a coalition since June elections that failed to produce a clear majority – with talks led by 54-year-old De Wever after his party claimed the most seats.
The right and centre-right came out on top in June’s elections, leading analysts to predict coalition talks could take less time than usual.
But negotiations hit a wall during the summer over the issue of plugging the country’s budget deficit – 4.4% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023.
De Wever, mayor of Antwerp since 2013, has pushed for cuts in social benefits and reforms to the country’s pension system that have already sparked opposition from labour unions.
The flamboyant politician had threatened to throw in the towel on the hunt for a coalition if no deal was reached Friday – and the agreement was struck with just hours to go.
Negotiators needed one final marathon 60-hour session to iron out differences over their 800-page programme.
The new government brings together three parties from Dutch-speaking Flanders: De Wever’s conservative N-VA, the centrist Christian-Democrats and the leftist Vooruit (Onward).
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It also includes two from French-speaking Wallonia: the centrist Les Engagés and the centre-right Reformist Movement.
Together, they hold an 81-seat majority in Belgium’s 150-seat parliament.
Belgium is one of seven European Union countries facing disciplinary action for running a deficit above three percent of GDP, in violation of the bloc’s fiscal rules.
While De Wever finally looks set to achieve his goal of becoming prime minister, the N-VA was already part of a ruling coalition between 2014 and 2018.
He should take over from the current prime minister, Alexander De Croo, whose seven-party coalition took an arduous 493 days to emerge back in 2019-2020, and who had stayed on as caretaker leader since June’s elections.
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