Moving in the wrong direction

Eight months after the elections things are no longer standing still. It seems they're moving in the wrong direction.

The last symptom? The two biggest French speaking parties restarted publicly saying that they want to redraw the frontiers of Brussels, enlarging the dominantly French speaking capital into Flanders. For a Flemish politician it is political suicide to even suggest this is thinkable. The public statements make it clear politicians are preparing elections, not conducting negotiations.

At the same time, the king urged the caretaker government to make a budget for the coming years. The result of this is that pressure is vanishing on negotiating parties to forge a deal. It also means that  even a bond market crisis probably wouldn't force a breakthrough either: it probably wouldn't build up pressure to make a government deal and start an era of austerity. Instead the negotiating parties would support the caretaker government to start with austerity.

Last week, the king gave Didier Reynders (resigning MR-president) the task to try a last time. He has to report to the king on February 16th. No one expects progress. It's all too much 'been there, done that, didn't work'. No one wants new elections, but it is getting harder and harder to see how they can be avoided.

Bart Haeck