Following the simultaneous
federal elections and
regional elections of 25 May 2014, negotiations started to
form
Form is the shape, visual appearance, or configuration of an object. In a wider sense, the form is the way something happens.
Form also refers to:
*Form (document), a document (printed or electronic) with spaces in which to write or enter data
...
a new
Federal Government
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
as well as new regional governments: a
Flemish
Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...
,
Walloon,
French Community
The French Community (1958–1960; french: Communauté française) was the constitutional organization set up in 1958 between France and its remaining African colonies, then in the process of decolonization. It replaced the French Union, which ...
and
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
Government. A
Government of the German-speaking Community
The government of the German-speaking Community (german: Regierung der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft; DG-Regierung) is the executive body of the German-speaking Community of Belgium, located in the east of the province of Liège. The members ...
was formed only a few days after the elections.
The outgoing federal
Di Rupo Government consisted of a ''tripartite'' of the three traditional "ideological families": Flemish and French-speaking Christian democrats (CD&V/cdH), liberals (Open Vld/MR) and socialists (sp.a/PS).
The
Michel Government The Michel Governments were various Belgian federal governments led by Prime Minister Charles Michel:
* Michel I Government (2014–2018)
* Michel II Government
The Michel II Government was the Federal Government of Belgium, led by Prime Mini ...
formed during these negotiations consists of a centre-right coalition of the Flemish nationalists (N-VA), the Flemish Christian democrats (CD&V) and the liberal parties (Open Vld/MR); i.e. only one party at French-speaking side. The new Flemish Government reflects the same coalition, whereas the Walloon and French Community Governments are made up of the PS and cdH, main centre-left parties that now became opposition at federal level.
Overview
Timeline
![Zetelverdeling-FK-2014](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Zetelverdeling-FK-2014.png)
Prior to the elections, N-VA expressed its desire to start with the
formation
Formation may refer to:
Linguistics
* Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes
* Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes
Mathematics and science
* Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...
of a Flemish Government before a Federal Government, a so-called "
confederal logic". Forming regional governments is politically easier. CD&V however stressed the importance of negotiating at both levels in parallel.
Informateur Bart De Wever (N-VA)
On 27 May, two days after the elections, King
Philippe nominated
Bart De Wever (N-VA) as ''
informateur
A formateur (French for "someone who forms, who constitutes") is a politician who is appointed to lead the formation of a coalition government, after either a general election or the collapse of a previous government. The role of the formateur i ...
'', meaning he is tasked with finding enough points of agreement for a possible coalition.
Likely federal government coalitions were either a coalition of
N-VA
The New Flemish Alliance ( nl, Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie, N-VA) is a Flemish nationalist and conservative political party in Belgium. The party was founded in 2001 by the right-leaning fraction of the centrist-nationalist People's Union (VU).
T ...
,
CD&V
Christian Democratic and Flemish (, , CD&V) is a Flemish Christian-democratic political party in Belgium. The party has historical ties to both trade unionism ( ACV) and trade associations (UNIZO) and the Farmer's League. Until 2001, the party wa ...
,
Open Vld
french: Libéraux et démocrates flamands ouverts
, abbreviation = Open Vld
, logo =
, leader1_title = President
, leader1_name = Egbert Lachaert
, foundation = 1992 (VLD)2007 (Open Vld)
, predecessor = Pa ...
and
MR,
cdH, or a continuation of the current ''tripartite''
Di Rupo Government (CD&V, Open Vld, sp.a and PS, MR, cdH). That last coalition now had a majority support among Flemish parties, which was not the case during the Di Rupo Government. The first possibility (with N-VA and without
PS/
sp.a
Vooruit (Dutch for Forward, ) is a Flemish social democratic political party in Belgium. The party was known as the Flemish Socialist Party (1978–2001: ''Socialistische Partij'', SP; 2001–2021: ''Socialistische Partij Anders'', SP.A) until 2 ...
) would not have a majority among Francophone parties. Majorities in language groups are not required, but politically preferred.
On 5 June 2014, the PS and cdH announced, to the surprise of all others, they were starting negotiations to form a Walloon Government. For the French language group in Brussels, PS, cdH and
FDF would form a government. Parallel to this, for the Dutch language group in Brussels, Open Vld, CD&V and sp.a agreed to form a coalition. However, upon learning that FDF would be part of the French-speaking coalition, Open Vld and CD&V refused to cooperate. Later, the two parties dropped their concerns, and continued negotiations.
The following day, N-VA and CD&V announced as a reaction they were starting negotiations for a Flemish Government. Outgoing Minister
Geert Bourgeois
Geert Albert Bourgeois (; born 6 July 1951) is a Belgian politician of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), which he founded in 2001, who is currently serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2019. He previously served as the Minister-Pr ...
(N-VA) and outgoing Minister-President
Kris Peeters
Kris Peeters (; born 18 May 1962) is a Belgian politician of the Christian Democratic and Flemish who has been serving as vice-president of the European Investment Bank (EIB) since 2021. Earlier in his career, he was Minister-President of Flander ...
(CD&V) led the negotiations, whereas Bart De Wever continued with his role as federal "informateur".
On 24 June 2014, "informateur" Bart De Wever sent a proposal to CD&V, MR and cdH to serve as a basis for the formation of a centre-right federal government. The text did not include any institutional changes, nor any far-reaching socio-economic reforms which would be unacceptable for French-speaking parties. CD&V and MR responded positively, whereas cdH rejected the text "due to a lack of trust between the parties". The media described cdH leader
Benoît Lutgen
Benoît Lutgen (born 10 March 1970) is a Belgian politician who served as head of the Centre démocrate humaniste (Humanist Democrat Centre) political party in Belgium from 2011 to 2019.
Early life
Benoît Lutgen was born on 10 March 1970 in Bast ...
as "Monsieur Non", referencing former cdH leader
Joëlle Milquet
Joëlle F.G.M. Milquet ( ; born 17 February 1961) is a Belgian politician from the Humanist Democratic Centre (CDH).
Education
She studied classics at the in Charleroi, before going on to graduate in law from the Université Catholique de Louva ...
who was nicknamed "Madame Non" in the
2007 government formation.
Informateur Charles Michel (MR)
![Kris-peeters-1391318830](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Kris-peeters-1391318830.jpg)
The next day, the King relieved De Wever of his task as "informateur". The King then held consultations with the leaders of the main parties, and on 27 June 2014, he nominated
Charles Michel (MR) as "informateur". Due to the cdH's rejection of a centre-right coalition, all options were open, but each possibility posed a number of difficulties. PS, the largest French-speaking party, preferred a continuation of the tripartite Di Rupo Government, a scenario rejected by a majority of the Flemish population and businesses. Another possibility was a "
kamikaze
, officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...
coalition" or "Swedish coalition", whereby MR would be the only French-speaking party in a coalition with N-VA, CD&V and Open Vld. As "informateur", Charles Michel talked with party leaders as well as employers' organizations, trade unions and other stakeholders. On 4 July 2014, the King extended his task for ten days, and on 14 July he extended his task until 22 July.
Meanwhile, regional government formations progressed steadily. The Brussels Government negotiation parties presented their coalition agreement on 14 July, and the Walloon/French Community negotiating parties presented their agreement on 18 July, both before the informal deadline of the National Holiday, 21 July 2014. On 20 July, the new
Vervoort Brussels Government was sworn in. The Flemish Government formation however, initially aimed for 11 July (the
Flemish Holiday) stalled in part due to the difficult budgetary situation, as well as the uncertainty regarding federal negotiations and disagreements between negotiating parties - the N-VA and CD&V.
On 22 July 2014, the N-VA and CD&V announced they would take Open Vld on board for the Flemish Government negotiations. Open Vld always said they wanted to be either part of both the federal and Flemish governments, or part of neither. The move paved the way for a federal "Swedish coalition" made up of CD&V, N-VA, Open Vld and MR, with outgoing Flemish Minister-President Kris Peeters (CD&V) as possible Prime Minister. As the King already expected informateur Charles Michel (MR) that day, he relieved him of his task and appointed him and Kris Peeters as formateurs.
Formateurs Kris Peeters (CD&V) and Charles Michel (MR)
Kris Peeters (CD&V) and Charles Michel (MR) prepared a draft, which was presented to the four negotiating parties as a basis for a coalition agreement. Each party has three negotiators:
*
Wouter Beke
Wouter Beke (born 9 August 1974) is a Belgium, Belgian politician and a member of the Christian Democratic and Flemish, CD&V. He was reelected as a member of the Belgian Senate in 2007. In 2014 he became a member of the Belgian Federal House of R ...
,
Koen Geens and
Pieter De Crem for CD&V;
*
Gwendolyn Rutten,
Alexander De Croo
Alexander De Croo (born 3 November 1975) is a Belgian politician and businessman who has served as the prime minister of Belgium since October 2020.
De Croo was born in Vilvoorde, Flemish Brabant, and studied business engineering at the Vrije ...
and
Maggie De Block for Open Vld;
*
Didier Reynders,
Olivier Chastel
Olivier Chastel (born 22 November 1964, in Liège) is a Belgian pharmacist and politician of the Liberal Party "Mouvement Réformateur" (MR) who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2019.
Early life and education
After ...
and
Willy Borsus
Willy Borsus (born 4 April 1962) is a Belgian politician. He is a member of the Reformist Movement (MR). He was the 14th Minister-President of Wallonia from the 28th of July 2017 to the 13th of September 2019.
Political career
Political mand ...
for MR;
*
Bart De Wever and
Jan Jambon
Jan Jambon (born 26 April 1960 in Genk) is a Belgian politician of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) who has been serving as Minister-President of Flanders since 2019. He replaced Kris Peeters as a member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives in ...
for N-VA;
** an additional rotating expert negotiator for N-VA, depending on the subject:
Johan Van Overtveldt
Johan Van Overtveldt (born 24 August 1955) is a Belgian journalist and politician of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA). He served as Minister of Finance of Belgium from 2014 until 2018.
Career
He was the chief editor of '' Trends'' from 2010 to 20 ...
for economy,
Theo Francken
Theo Francken (born 7 February 1978) is a Belgian politician who has been a member of the Chamber of Representatives since 2010. He is a member of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), a conservative Flemish nationalist party.
Francken was made ...
for asylum and migration,
Hendrik Vuye Hendrik may refer to:
* Hendrik (given name)
* Hans Hendrik, Greenlandic Arctic traveller and interpreter
* Hendrik Island, an island in Greenland
* Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, a municipality in the Netherlands
* A character from ''Dragon Quest XI''
See ...
for justice,
Steven Vandeput
Steven Vandeput (born 30 March 1967 in Hasselt) is a Belgian politician and is affiliated to the N-VA. He was elected as a member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives in 2010.
In October 2014 he became the Minister of Defence in the Michel G ...
for SMEs and fiscality,
Zuhal Demir
Zuhal Demir (born 2 March 1980 in Genk) is a Belgian lawyer and politician affiliated to the N-VA. Demir was elected as a member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives in 2010. She is currently the Flemish minister for Justice and Enforceme ...
for labour,
Elke Sleurs
Elke Sleurs (born 6 February 1968, in Ghent) is a Belgian politician and is affiliated to the N-VA.
Sleurs is a gynaecologist. She was elected as a member of the Belgian Senate in 2010. After the 2014 elections Sleurs was elected as a member of ...
for poverty reduction and public health,
Bert Wollants
Bert Wollants (born 30 August 1979 in Lier) is a Belgian politician and is affiliated to the N-VA. He is replacing Kris Van Dijck as a member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives
The Chamber of Representatives (Dutch: , french: link=no ...
for energy,
Siegfried Bracke
Siegfried Theofiel Hortense Bracke (born 21 February 1953) is a former Belgian politician and is affiliated to the N-VA. He was elected as a member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives in 2010. Bracke was born in Ghent
Ghent ( nl, G ...
for pensions, or
Peter Dedecker for government enterprises.
A difficult political issue in the negotiations was the designation of the Belgian member of the
Juncker Commission
The Juncker Commission was the European Commission in office from 1 November 2014 to 30 November 2019. Its president was Jean-Claude Juncker, who presided over 27 other commissioners (one from each of the states composing the European Union, exc ...
being formed. CD&V insisted on proposing
Marianne Thyssen
Marianne Leonie Petrus Thyssen (; born 24 July 1956) is a Belgian politician of the Christian Democratic and Flemish Party (CD&V) who served as European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility between 2014 and 2019 ...
, a member of the European Parliament and the candidate preferred by
Jean-Claude Juncker as they are from the same party and the Commission needs more female members. However, Kris Peeters was expected to become the next Prime Minister, giving CD&V the two most important political posts, which is unacceptable to the other parties. MR in its turn insisted on proposing Didier Reynders as European Commissioner. After long negotiations the parties ultimately agreed to propose Marianne Thyssen, with the Prime Minister to be a liberal (MR or Open Vld). This was eventually agreed to be
Charles Michel. His party, MR, will already get half of the ministers due to the Constitution requiring an equal number of Dutch- and French-speaking ministers. As a fluent Dutch speaker, unlike his predecessor,
Elio Di Rupo, barriers to his appointment on language grounds were unfounded.
Despite the parties' ideological proximity and the lack of state reform as a topic, the negotiations lasted longer than anticipated. On 7 October 2014, after a round of negotiations of more than 24 hours, the parties finally finalised their
coalition agreement
A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
and confirmed that Charles Michel will be head of government.
See also
*
2014 Belgian federal election
Federal elections were held in Belgium on 25 May 2014. All 150 members of the Chamber of Representatives (Belgium), Chamber of Representatives were elected, whereas the Senate (Belgium), Senate was no longer directly elected following the sixth ...
*
2014 Belgian regional elections
Regional elections were held in Belgium on 25 May 2014 to choose representatives for the Flemish Parliament, Walloon Parliament, Brussels Parliament and the Parliament of the German-speaking Community. These elections were held on the same day as t ...
*
2019–2020 Belgian government formation
In Belgium, the government formation of 2019–2020 started one day after the 2019 Belgian federal election, federal elections, 2019 Belgian regional elections, regional elections and 2019 European Parliament election in Belgium, European election ...
*
2010–11 Belgian government formation
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
References
{{Belgian governments
2014 in Belgium
Belgian government formation 2014
2014 in politics
Political history of Belgium