Rousseau and Bouchez both say they want a deal, but neither gives any ground
On the second day of talks with King Philippe, Vooruit stressed a fair sharing of the burden and MR stuck to curbing public spending; N-VA goes to the palace today.
Vooruit leader Conner Rousseau was the first to be received by King Philippe on Wednesday. According to Bruzz, he arrived more than an hour early with his book on Europe under his arm. The audience lasted one hour and twenty minutes, VRT NWS reported on its live blog. Afterwards Rousseau said he and the king had talked at length about the gravity of the situation and that Vooruit wants an agreement, provided it is fair and everyone contributes their share. He would say no more.
MR leader Georges-Louis Bouchez arrived around midday and stayed for just over an hour. He said nothing on his way in or out; La Libre writes that he stayed in his car with the windows closed. Later in the afternoon he wrote on X that more taxes are not the answer when the state spends too much. In the evening he set out his position on the RTL-TVi and RTBF news. A country without a government would be a disaster, he said, because financial markets would then turn on Belgium. Spending is growing five to ten times faster than wealth creation, according to Bouchez, which he called an economic and mathematical problem rather than a political one. Healthcare spending should grow more slowly; by his calculation, patients entitled to increased reimbursement would pay one to three euros more, he told RTBF.
Bouchez said he has no taboos as long as the economy is revived, and recalled that the coalition agreement draws only one ninth of the effort from new revenue. If the party leaders themselves are asked to negotiate, he will go, he said. La Libre sees his restraint as an attempt to keep the coalition alive and to avoid MR being blamed; the liberals had made a VAT increase a red line, and De Wever's decision to drop that idea angered the other partners. The youth wings of N-VA, CD&V, MR and Les Engagés issued a joint call for a sense of responsibility in the evening; Jongsocialisten did not sign up, VRT NWS reported.
The king receives N-VA leader Valerie Van Peel today, followed by Prime Minister Bart De Wever on Friday at 10.30. VRT journalist Pieterjan De Smedt expects a new attempt at negotiations and thinks it unlikely the king will accept the government's resignation on Friday. No party, he said, has signalled that it wants to walk away from the talks. The government is looking for ten billion euros by 2029.