The king is back. Now what?
King Albert II returns today from his visit to Congo, where he celebrated the 50th anniversary of the independence of the former Belgian colony. It was meant to be a low profile visit and so it was. The king remained silent in public. His visit was a signal that Belgium wants to normalize diplomatic relations with Congo but at the same time the Belgian government wanted to make clear that it is not supporting the regime of president Kabila.
But today he is back. That means that Bart De Wever, who is preparing government negotiations, has the opportunity to brief the king on his work. It is expected this will happen in one of the coming days. Later today, De Wever sees the presidents of most of the political parties. A coalition that mirrors the regional government is still seen as the most plausible scenario, although it far from sure.
There are two scenarios now. The better one is that things go fast and Bart De Wever goes to the king, gives back his mandate, and that the king appoints PS-president Elio Di Rupo to start negotiations. If all goes well, Mr Di Rupo could then become prime minister. It is the best scenario because it is a fast track to the only possible outcome. A solution without Mr. De Wever and Mr. Di Rupo is not imaginable. They won the elections.
The bad one is that Bart De Wever goes to the king, gives back his mandate and that the king decides that it is still too soon to start negotiations. In that case he will give someone else the task to explore the political boundaries of what is possible. This explorer will wear, as the expression in Belgian politics goes, a "parfum de crise", if he or she wants it or not.
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