Parliamentary election in Belgium 2019

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 %
20th
10
0
16.0
12.0
9.5
8.9
8.6
8.5
7.6
6.7
6.1
16.1
Otherwise.
Gains and losses
compared to 2014
 % p
 10
   8th
   6th
   4th
   2
   0
  -2
  -4
  -6
-4.3
+8.3
-2.2
-2.7
+4.9
-1.3
-2.0
-2.1
+2.8
-1.8
Otherwise.
Distribution of seats in the Belgian Chamber of Deputies
            
A total of 150 seats
Distribution of seats in the Belgian Senate
            
A total of 60 seats

The election for the Belgian Chamber of Deputies took place on May 26, 2019, the same day as the European elections. At the same time, the Flemish Parliament as well as the parliaments of Wallonia , the Brussels-Capital Region and the German-speaking Community were newly elected.

initial situation

In the parliamentary elections in Belgium in 2014 , the Flemish nationalist N-VA was able to achieve slight gains, while the socialists of then Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo suffered losses.

On October 7, 2014, N-VA, CD&V, MR and Open Vld agreed to form a new center-right government. Charles Michel (MR) became the new Prime Minister . The coalition held 85 of the 150 seats. While the new government can rely on 65 of the 87 Flemish MPs, the MR, as the only French-speaking party involved, has only 20 of the 63 MPs for the French-speaking parties. The Francophone Christian Democrats (cdH) had refused to rule with the N-VA. For the first time since 1988 the socialists were absent from the government.

After a dispute over Belgium's approval of the UN Migration Pact , the N-VA withdrew its ministers from the Michel I government on December 9, 2018 . On the same day, the king appointed new ministers at Michel's suggestion and expanded the portfolio of some ministers so that all vacant posts were filled by members of the remaining ruling parties. Instead of the “Swedish” coalition ( La suédoise , N-VA / MR / CD&V / Open VLD ), the minority alliance Michel II was referred to as “orange-blue” (MR / CD&V / Open Vld). Before there was a vote of confidence on December 18, 2018, Michel resigned and the government had only been in office since then and until the elections.

Electoral system

Each province and the capital region of Brussels , which has not belonged to any province since 1995, each form a constituency. In each constituency, the seats are distributed proportionally using the D'Hondt method . There is a 5% hurdle. In the smaller constituencies, however, it is possible that a party with a share of the vote well over 5% will not get a seat.

This regulation was introduced in 2002, but did not apply in the area of ​​the former province of Brabant until 2010 . After the electoral district of Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde was dissolved , there has been a uniform electoral system for the whole country again since the 2014 election. However, the residents of six municipalities belonging to Flemish Brabant, the so-called facilities municipalities around Brussels, can also vote for a list in the Brussels constituency.

According to the constitution, the number of representatives per constituency is determined by royal decree every 10 years according to the population (including foreigners). Since Brussels has a far above-average proportion of foreigners, the number of persons entitled to vote per seat is smaller there than in the rest of the country. According to the royal decree of January 31, 2013, the seats are distributed among the constituencies as follows:

Flanders (87 seats in total)

Wallonia (48 seats in total)

Each voter can choose a list by either choosing the list as a whole or by giving any number of applicants a preference vote within a list.

Survey

Distribution of seats according to TNS survey
            
A total of 150 seats
TNS survey (Flanders) of April 24, 2019
 %
30th
20th
10
0
27.9
14.7
14.6
14.2
12.7
9.3
5.9
0.8
Otherwise.
Gains and losses
compared to
 % p
   6th
   4th
   2
   0
  -2
  -4
  -6
-4.5
-3.9
+6.0
-1.3
-1.3
+3.5
+3.1
-1.4
Otherwise.
TNS survey (Wallonia) of April 24, 2019
 %
30th
20th
10
0
24.7
22.0
18.3
14.8
9.3
3.9
3.5
1.1
2.4
LD
Otherwise.
Gains and losses
compared to
 % p
 14th
 12
 10
   8th
   6th
   4th
   2
   0
  -2
  -4
  -6
  -8th
-7.3
+13.8
-7.5
+9.3
-4.7
+1.5
-1.0
+1.1
-4.1
LD
Otherwise.
TNS survey (Brussels) on April 24, 2019
 %
30th
20th
10
0
21.5
19.0
15.5
11.9
8.5
6.9
4.2
3.0
2.0
7.5
Gains and losses
compared to
 % p
 12
 10
   8th
   6th
   4th
   2
   0
  -2
  -4
  -6
  -8th
+11.0
-5.9
-7.6
+8.1
-2.6
-2.4
+1.5
+3.0
+0.4
-5.5
Template: election chart / maintenance / notes
Remarks:
a 2014: Joint result from Ecolo and Groen

Result

Elected MPs by party and constituency

Result sorted by votes:

Political party be right Seats
number in % +/- number in % +/-%
N-VA 1,086,787 16.03   4.23 25th 16.67   8
Vlaams Belang 810.177 11.95   8.28 18th 12.00   15
PS 641.623 9.46   2.21 20th 13.33   3
CD&V 602.520 8.89   2.72 12 8.00   6
PTB * PVDA 584,621 8.62   4.90 12 8.00   10
Open Vld 579,334 8.54   1.24 12 8.00   2
MR 512.825 7.56   2.08 14th 9.33   6
spa 455.034 6.71   2.12 9 6.00   4
Ecolo 416.452 6.14   2.84 13 8.67   7
Great 413.836 6.10   0.78 8th 5.33   2
cdH 250,861 3.70   1.25 5 3.33   4
DéFI 150.394 2.22   0.42 2 1.33  
Parti Populaire 75.096 1.11   0.41 0 0.00   1
DierAnimal 47,733 0.70 New 0 0.00 New
Destexhe 42,712 0.63 New 0 0.00 New
Others 110,553 1.64 0 0.00  
Valid votes 6,780,538 93.93
Invalid votes 438.095 6.07
Votes cast 7,218,633 100.00 - 150 100.00  
Abstentions 949.076 9.99
Number of eligible voters
and turnout 		8,167,709 90.01   0.33

Voting behavior by region

Brussels Capital Region

Brussels Capital Region
Political party be right Seats
number in % +/- number in % +/-%
Ecolo 108.144 21.57   11.11 4th 26.67   2
PS - sp.a 100.195 19.98   6.81 3 20.00   2
MR 87,594 17.47   5.60 3 20.00   1
PTB * PVDA 61,589 12.28   8.45 2 13.33   2
DéFI 51,544 10.28   0.81 2 13.33  
cdH 29,161 5.82   3.50 1 6.67   1
N-VA 15,983 3.19   0.54 0 0.00  
Destexhe 12,879 2.57 New 0 0.00 New
Open Vld 11,511 2.30   0.37 0 0.00  
Parti Populaire 8,455 1.69   0.05 0 0.00  
Vlaams Belang 7,824 1.56   0.53 0 0.00  
CD&V 6,580 1.31   0.33 0 0.00  
Valid votes 501.459 93.19
Invalid votes 36,650 6.81
Votes cast 538.109 100.00 - 15th 100.00  
Abstentions 85.053 13.65
Number of eligible voters
and turnout 		623.162 86.35

Flanders

Flanders
Political party be right Seats
number in % +/- number in % +/-%
N-VA 1,070,804 25.46   7.7 25th 28.74   8
Vlaams Belang 784.276 18.65   12.7 18th 20.69   15
CD&V 595.940 14.17   4.8 12 13.79   6
Open Vld 567,823 13.50   2.3 12 13.79   2
spa 455.034 10.82   3.5 9 10.34   4
Great 413.836 9.83   1.0 8th 9.20   2
PTB * PVDA 236,897 5.63   2.7 3 3.45   3
DierAnimal 35,271 0.84 New 0 0.00 New
DéFI 14,043 0.33 0 0.00  
Others 32,381 0.77 0 0.00  
Valid votes 4,206,305 95.31
Invalid votes 207.015 4.69
Votes cast 4,413,320 100.00 - 87 100.00  
Abstentions 505,551 10.28
Number of eligible voters
and turnout 		4,918,871 89.72
Antwerp Province
Political party be right % +/- Seats % +/-
N-VA 361.022 31.23   8.2 8th 33.33   3
Vlaams Belang 217,333 18.80   11.8 5 20.83   3
CD&V 128.036 11.07   5.0 3 12.50   1
Great 127.131 11.00   1.2 2 8.33  
Open Vld 111.505 9.64   0.6 2 8.33  
spa 93.114 8.05   3.5 2 8.33   1
PTB * PVDA 88,430 7.65   3.1 2 8.33   2
DierAnimal 13,544 1.17 New 0 0.00 New
Pirate party 7,521 0.65   0.3 0 0.00  
D-SA 3,605 0.31 New 0 0.00 New
PV&S 3,217 0.28 New 0 0.00 New
Volt Europe 1,669 0.14 New 0 0.00 New
Valid votes 1,156,127 96.32
Invalid votes 44,187 3.68
Votes cast 1,200,314 100.00 - 24 100.00  
Abstentions 141.136 10.52
Number of eligible voters
and turnout 		1,341,450 89.48
Flemish Brabant Province
Political party be right % +/- Seats % +/-
N-VA 193.735 28.08   0.3 5 33.33  
Open Vld 106.175 15.39   9.7 3 20.00   1
CD&V 94 743 13.73   2.8 2 13.33   1
Vlaams Belang 92,844 13.46   9.2 2 13.33   2
Great 81,620 11.83   3.1 2 13.33   1
spa 65,347 9.47   2.5 1 6.67   1
PTB * PVDA 33,016 4.78   2.9 0 0.00  
DéFI 14,043 2.04   0.2 0 0.00  
BUB Belgian University 4,513 0.65 New 0 0.00 New
PER 3,992 0.58 New 0 0.00 New
Valid votes 690.028 95.17
Invalid votes 34,989 4.83
Votes cast 725.017 100.00 - 15th 100.00  
Abstentions 107.384 12.90
Number of eligible voters
and turnout 		832.401 87.10
Limburg Province
Political party be right % +/- Seats % +/-
N-VA 125.273 22.58   8.8 3 25.00   2
Vlaams Belang 109,499 19.74   13.6 3 25.00   3
CD&V 103.625 18.68   4.0 2 16.67   1
spa 76,614 13.81   3.9 2 16.67  
Open Vld 66,602 12.00   0.1 1 8.33   1
Great 38,154 6.88   0.9 1 8.33   1
PTB * PVDA 31,037 5.59   3.0 0 0.00  
D-SA 2,344 0.42 New 0 0.00 New
PER 1,690 0.30 New 0 0.00 New
Valid votes 554,838 94.32
Invalid votes 33,423 5.68
Votes cast 588.261 100.00 - 12 100.00  
Abstentions 58,242 9.01
Number of eligible voters
and turnout 		646.503 90.99
East Flanders Province
Political party be right % +/- Seats % +/-
N-VA 218.023 21.83   9.2 5 25.00   1
Vlaams Belang 200.173 20.04   13.8 4th 20.00   3
Open Vld 178,349 17.85   0.3 4th 20.00  
CD&V 127.024 12.72   5.2 2 10.00   2
Great 103.061 10.32   1.2 2 10.00  
spa 101,447 10.16   3.2 2 10.00   1
PTB * PVDA 55.209 5.53   2.9 1 5.00   1
DierAnimal 11 801 1.18 New 0 0.00 New
BOY 2,098 0.21 New 0 0.00 New
De Coöperatie 1,732 0.17 New 0 0.00 New
Valid votes 998.917 95.22
Invalid votes 50,149 4.78
Votes cast 1,049,066 100.00 - 20th 100.00  
Abstentions 106,668 9.23
Number of eligible voters
and turnout 		1,155,734 90.77
West Flanders Province
Political party be right % +/- Seats % +/-
N-VA 172.751 21.42   7.1 4th 25.00   2
Vlaams Belang 164,427 20.39   15.7 4th 25.00   4
CD&V 142,512 17.67   4.1 3 18.75   1
spa 118,512 14.70   2.9 2 12.50   1
Open Vld 105.192 13.04   0.7 2 12.50  
Great 63,870 7.92   1 6.25  
PTB * PVDA 29.205 3.62   2.0 0 0.00  
DierAnimal 9,926 1.23 New 0 0.00 New
Valid votes 806.395 94.80
Invalid votes 44,267 5.20
Votes cast 850,662 100.00 - 16 100.00  
Abstentions 92.121 9.77
Number of eligible voters
and turnout 		942,783 90.23

Wallonia

Wallonia
Political party be right Seats
number in % +/- number in % +/-%
PS 541.428 26.12   8.5 17th 35.42   1
MR 425.231 20.52   7.4 11 22.92   5
Ecolo 308,308 14.87   6.0 9 18.75   5
PTB * PVDA 286.135 13.80   7.9 7th 14.58   5
cdH 221,700 10.70   4.4 4th 8.33   3
DéFI 84,807 4.09   1.5 0 0.00  
Parti Populaire 66,641 3.22   1.7 0 0.00   1
Destexhe 29,833 1.44 New 0 0.00 New
Collectif citoyen 21.092 1.02 New 0 0.00 New
Vlaams Belang 18,077 0.87 New 0 0.00 New
La Droite 15,075 0.73 0 0.00  
DierAnimal 12,462 0.60 New 0 0.00 New
Others 41,985 2.02 0 0.00  
Valid votes 2,072,774 91.42
Invalid votes 194.430 8.58
Votes cast 2.267.204 100.00 - 48 100.00  
Abstentions 358.472 13.65
Number of eligible voters
and turnout 		2,625,676 86.35
Hainaut Province
Political party be right % +/- Seats % +/-
PS 250.146 34.24   6.8 8th 44.44   1
MR 116,528 15.93   4.8 3 16.67   2
PTB * PVDA 114.243 15.64   10.5 3 16.67  
Ecolo 89,898 12.30   6.4 3 16.67   2
cdH 58,695 8.03   2.4 1 5.56   1
DéFI 27,484 3.76   1.8 0 0.00  
Parti Populaire 24,719 3.38   1.0 0 0.00  
Vlaams Belang 8,246 1.13 New 0 0.00 New
Destexhe 8,177 1.12 New 0 0.00 New
Collectif citoyen 7,992 1.09 New 0 0.00 New
La Droite 5,916 0.81   0.11 0 0.00  
AGIR 5,916 0.81 New 0 0.00 New
Lutte Ouvrière 5,735 0.78   0.31 0 0.00  
nation 5,341 0.73   0.22 0 0.00  
PCB 1,626 0.22 New 0 0.00 New
Valid votes 730.662 90.11
Invalid votes 80.234 9.89
Votes cast 810.896 100.00 - 18th 100.00  
Abstentions 131,893 13.99
Number of eligible voters
and turnout 		942,789 86.01
Liege Province
Political party be right % +/- Seats % +/-
PS 154,232 24.91   5.1 5 33.33  
MR 121,732 19.66   5.6 3 20.00   2
PTB * PVDA 101,860 16.45   8.4 3 20.00  
Ecolo 95,878 12.30   6.4 3 20.00   2
cdH 52,167 8.43   4.6 1 6.67   1
DéFI 22,313 3.60   1.4 0 0.00  
Parti Populaire 21,998 3.55   1.6 0 0.00   1
Les Belges d'abord 10 463 1.69 New 0 0.00 New
Destexhe 9,310 1.50 New 0 0.00 New
DierAnimal 8,392 1.36 New 0 0.00 New
Collectif citoyen 7,395 1.19 New 0 0.00 New
Vlaams Belang 4,093 0.66 New 0 0.00 New
La Droite 3,949 0.64   0.75 0 0.00  
nation 2.137 0.35   0.03 0 0.00  
Wallonia Insoumise 3,266 0.53 New 0 0.00 New
Valid votes 619.185 91.69
Invalid votes 56.094 8.31
Votes cast 675.279 100.00 - 15th 100.00  
Abstentions 119.099 14.99
Number of eligible voters
and turnout 		794.378 85.01
Luxembourg Province
Political party be right % +/- Seats % +/-
MR 40,242 23.56   0.8 1 25.00  
cdH 40,056 23.45   10.0 1 25.00   1
PS 31,898 18.67   3.3 1 25.00  
Ecolo 27,338 16.00   8.1 1 25.00   1
PTB * PVDA 15,424 9.03   6.6 0 0.00  
DéFI 5,092 2.98   1.3 0 0.00  
Parti Populaire 4,933 2.89   1.2 0 0.00  
Destexhe 1,707 1.00 New 0 0.00 New
Vlaams Belang 1,517 0.89 New 0 0.00 New
La Droite 1,440 0.84   0.34 0 0.00  
nation 1,176 0.69 New 0 0.00 New
Valid votes 170,823 90.54
Invalid votes 17,858 9.46
Votes cast 188,681 100.00 - 4th 100.00  
Abstentions 23,760 11.18
Number of eligible voters
and turnout 		212,441 88.82
Namur Province
Political party be right % +/- Seats % +/-
PS 67,422 22.11   5.7 2 33.33  
MR 60,266 19.77   8.5 1 16.67   1
cdH 51,977 17.05   1.0 1 16.67  
Ecolo 46,320 15.19   5.5 1 16.67  
PTB * PVDA 36,330 11.92   7.1 1 16.67  
DéFI 14,809 4.86   2.1 0 0.00  
Parti Populaire 8,906 2.92   1.4 0 0.00  
Destexhe 4,326 1.42 New 0 0.00 New
DierAnimal 4,070 1.33 New 0 0.00 New
Collectif citoyen 2.406 0.79 New 0 0.00 New
La Droite 2,310 0.76   0.6 0 0.00  
Vlaams Belang 2.124 0.70 New 0 0.00 New
nation 1.929 0.63   0.11 0 0.00  
AGIR 1,682 0.55 New 0 0.00 New
Valid votes 304,877 92.22
Invalid votes 25,724 7.78
Votes cast 330.601 100.00 - 6th 100.00  
Abstentions 48,698 12.84
Number of eligible voters
and turnout 		379.299 87.16
Walloon Brabant Province
Political party be right % +/- Seats % +/-
MR 86,463 34.97   5.8 3 60.00  
Ecolo 48,874 19.77   8.4 1 20.00  
PS 37,730 15.26   6.1 1 20.00  
cdH 18.805 7.61   3.4 0 0.00  
PTB * PVDA 18,278 7.39   4.7 0 0.00  
DéFI 15,109 6.11   1.4 0 0.00  
Destexhe 6.313 2.55 New 0 0.00 New
Parti Populaire 6,085 2.46   1.5 0 0.00  
Collectif citoyen 3,299 1.33 New 0 0.00 New
Vlaams Belang 2,097 0.85 New 0 0.00 New
Wallonia Insoumise 2,088 0.84 New 0 0.00 New
La Droite 1,460 0.59   0.38 0 0.00  
Turquoise 626 0.25 New 0 0.00 New
Valid votes 247.227 94.45
Invalid votes 14,520 5.56
Votes cast 261,747 100.00 - 5 100.00  
Abstentions 35,022 11.80
Number of eligible voters
and turnout 		296,769 88.20

Voting behavior according to language groups

Result of the Dutch-language lists
 %
30th
20th
10
0
25.6
19.1
14.2
13.6
10.7
9.7
5.6
1.2
Otherwise.
Gains and losses
compared to
 % p
 14th
 12
 10
   8th
   6th
   4th
   2
   0
  -2
  -4
  -6
  -8th
-6.9
+13.2
-4.4
-1.7
-3.5
+1.2
+2.8
-1.0
Otherwise.
Result of the French-language lists
 %
30th
20th
10
0
25.4
20.3
16.5
13.8
9.9
5.9
3
1.7
3.5
Otherwise.
Gains and losses
compared to
 % p
 10
   8th
   6th
   4th
   2
   0
  -2
  -4
  -6
-5.6
-5.3
+7.7
+8.4
-3.3
+1.1
-1
+1.7
-3.7
Otherwise.

Results by electoral canton

The following voting card shows the parties with the highest number of votes in each electoral canton. The Brussels-Capital constituency has been enlarged:

Constituency map - strongest party by electoral canton

After the election

Reactions and possible coalitions

In the elections, deep linguistic and regional differences were once again evident in Belgium, with Flanders voting strongly on the right and Wallonia strongly on the left.

There is no majority for a new edition of the Swedish coalition (blue-yellow) with liberals ( MR and Open Vld ), as well as Flemish nationalists (N-VA) and Christian Democrats ( CD&V ), which broke up in December 2018. A purple-yellow coalition (socialists, liberals and N-VA) would be mathematically possible . A rainbow coalition , also called purple-green (socialists, liberals and greens), has no arithmetical majority without another partner since the exclusion of the MP Emir Kir from the PS in January 2020 because of contacts with the Gray Wolves . CD&V insists on a government including the N-VA, while Ecolo is already ruling out negotiations with the N-VA.

In response to the strong growth of the far-right Vlaams Belang (VB), there was some speculation that the N-VA boss Bart De Wever imposed on the party cordon sanitaire could break by refusing to rule out talks with VB because their strong Results could make it difficult to form a coalition.

The People's Party , a small right-wing French-speaking party, disbanded on June 18 through an internal vote in response to the loss of its only seat in the elections. The former party leader Mischaël Modrikamen accused the "systematic exclusion of the People's Party from the political and media debate".

In the days following the election, King Philippe held consultations with all major party leaders, including the party leader of the Vlaams Belang, Tom Van Grieken . According to British newspaper The Guardian , 1936 was the last time a far-right leader had an official meeting with the king.

First exploratory rounds (May to October 2019)

On May 30th, King Philippe appointed Johan Vande Lanotte ( sp.a ) and Didier Reynders ( MR ), two experienced politicians with long service, as informators . As expected, they reported their progress by June 6th, after which they were given a little more time, with a new deadline of June 17th. After this period, a further extension was granted until July 1 and again until July 29 and a further extension until September 9. Her last mandate ran until October 7th.

On June 5, the Francophone Christian Democrats ( cdH ) declared that they wanted to remain in the opposition because of the poor result. Vande Lanotte and Reynders invited all party leaders to talks in June, with the exception of those from the radical right-wing Vlaams Belang and the radical left-wing Labor Party (PVDA-PTB). The informers encouraged the Francophone Socialists ( PS ) and the Flemish Nationalists (N-VA), each of whom became the strongest force in their respective parts of the country, to talk to one another, which the Socialists continued to categorically rule out. On July 20, the Flemish Liberals (Open Vld) also excluded a coalition with the Greens ( Ecolo and Groen ).

On July 27th, the informators invited seven parties to a large round of talks: the socialists (PS and sp.a), the liberals (MR and Open Vld), as well as the Flemish nationalists (N-VA), Christian democrats ( CD&V ) and the Greens (Groen). The Francophone Greens (Ecolo) stayed away from the talks because the N-VA participated. The PS, on the other hand, took part in talks with the N-VA for the first time, but noted enormous differences. On August 7th, Open Vld declared that it wanted to withdraw from the talks if, at the same time as a government was being formed in Flanders , a government without Open Vld should be formed. In further talks in August and September, the focus was placed on explorations between the six non-large parties.

On August 24th, the Belgian government decided to appoint Didier Reynders as EU Commissioner.

On September 11, the socialist parties (PS and sp.a) demanded the exclusion of the Flemish-liberal Open Vld from the talks.

On September 13th, the new Walloon regional government was constituted from socialists (PS), liberals (MR) and Greens (Ecolo). The Flemish government of nationalists (N-VA), Christian democrats (CD&V) and liberals (Open Vld) followed on October 2nd.

First attempt at forming a government (October to November 2019)

On October 4, 2019, King Philippe announced the end of the first phase of talks on the formation of a federal government. The informators made their last report to the king on October 7th and recommended that the government should continue to be pursued with the participation of N-VA and PS. Philippe appointed Geert Bourgeois (N-VA) and Rudy Demotte (PS) as pre- formatters (pre-government builders ), which initiated the third stage of government formation. The two were the Prime Ministers of Flanders and the French Community in the previous legislative period .

After the acting Prime Minister of Belgium, Charles Michel (MR), was elected President of the European Council in July 2019 , he handed over the office to his party colleague Sophie Wilmès on October 27 (→ Wilmès acting government ).

On November 4th, the two pre-formatters Rudy Demotte and Geert Bourgeois offered the king their resignation because they could not overcome the political blockade. The king appointed the PS party chairman Paul Magnette as an informateur, which caused the negotiations to fall back on exploratory level.

Renewed explorations (November 2019 to March 2020)

Since the election, Magnette has favored a rainbow coalition (socialists, liberals and greens), possibly expanded to include the Flemish Christian Democrats (CD&V) for a more stable majority ( Vivaldi coalition , based on The Four Seasons ). However, Open Vld and CD&V originally rejected this, as the Walloons would be in the majority in such a coalition. Magnette reported to the King on November 18, after which his mandate was extended by a week.

On November 30th, an exploratory round for a rainbow coalition took place without the participation of CD&V and N-VA, whereupon both sharply criticized their coalition partner in Flanders, the Open Vld. On December 9th, Magnette returned his negotiating mandate to the king. This appointed the party presidents Georges-Louis Bouchez (MR) and Joachim Coens (CD&V) as the new informateurs. They reported to the King for the first time on December 20, stating that neither a purple-yellow nor a purple-green coalition was currently possible. Accordingly, they want to look for further partners on the basis of a center policy with an open mind. According to the next report on January 13, 2020, the two informers' mandate was initially extended to January 28, 2020 and then again to February 4.

However, they gave their mandate back to the king on January 31, 2020 because it was not possible for them to form a government. Without the participation of CD&V, the future government will not have a stable majority. But this does not want to form a coalition without the participation of the N-VA. But if the N-VA is involved in the government, the PS is no longer willing to participate in the government. The king then instructed the acting Minister of Justice, Koen Geens , to take the necessary initiatives to enable the formation of a government quickly. According to Geens' first report on February 10, 2020, the king extended the commission until February 17, 2020. On February 14, 2020, Geens was released from his commission after he had described the continuation of his commission as pointless. The reason for this was statements by PS chairman Paul Magnette, who saw no point in further talks between PS and N-VA.

Formation of the Wilmès II interim government

Parliamentary basis of the Wilmès II government

After discussions with all party chairmen, on February 19, 2020, King Philippe commissioned the liberal politicians Patrick Dewael (chairman of the chamber ) and Sabine Laruelle (chairman of the Senate ) with a new mediation mission. A first report is to be submitted on March 9, 2020. The contract was then extended for another week.

In the meantime, the formation of a crisis government has come to the fore as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic . But both a Vivaldi coalition and a purple-yellow coalition continued to fail due to resistance from the CD&V and the PS. Instead, the incumbent Executive Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès (MR) and her minority government (MR-CD & V-Open Vld) should be confirmed in office with votes from ten parties (all except PVDA-PTB and VB) and given powers. On March 16, Philippe Wilmès gave the order to form a government. On March 17, 2020, the Wilmès II government, designed for a transitional period of six months, was sworn in, which is identical in terms of personnel to the Wilmès I executive government. On the basis of the assumption that the government constellation could stabilize, the N-VA ultimately also voted against the government, but the parliamentary majority was secured by the other nine parties. On March 19, the Wilmès II government won 84 votes to 44, with no abstentions, with 22 MPs absent. However, this emergency government was limited to six months. Wilmès had to promise to then ask the vote of confidence and to deal exclusively with the corona pandemic and its economic and financial effects for the six months. In return, on March 26, she was granted exceptional powers for three months, extendable to a maximum of six months, allowing her to rule by decree ("Arrêté / Besluit"), under the control of a specially formed parliamentary commission and subject to a later parliamentary approval.

Continuation of negotiations (since May 2020)

In mid-May 2020, the leaders of the social democratic parties Paul Magnette (PS) and Connor Rousseau (sp.a) began informal talks with eight other party leaders to form a government after the interim government's mandate expired in September. Magnette and Rousseau had come to the conclusion that the only possible government constellation would be a minority cabinet made up of socialists, liberals and Christian Democrats that would be tolerated by the Greens. In June they presented their results to Prime Minister Wilmès, who, according to Magnette and Rousseau, would form such a government. However, the three chairmen of the government parties , Georges-Louis Bouchez (MR), Joachim Coens (CD&V) and Egbert Lachaert (Open Vld) rejected the proposal and unofficially took over the exploratory mandate. While the Wilmès II government's special powers expired at the end of June, the three party leaders held separate talks with the sp.a, the N-VA and the cdH to form a new kind of Arizona coalition .

Since the PS threatened to be ignored at the Arizona talks, Magnette no longer ruled out a coalition with the N-VA and, in turn, started talks with De Wever. On July 20, King Philippe appointed the leaders of the strongest parties in the two parts of the country to be pre-government builders. The core group of the talks included the N-VA and the two social democratic parties as well as the Christian democratic parties. Since there was still six seats short of a majority, Magnette and De Wever negotiated in parallel with the Greens and the Liberals to get a sixth party on board. In a joint communiqué, however, the green and liberal parties criticized the development of the content of the talks and the negotiating style that pits the two party families off against each other. Magnette and De Wever then announced on August 14 that the negotiations had failed. On August 18, Philippe appointed the chairman of the Flemish Liberals, Egbert Lachaert, as royal commissioner. He has ten days to hold talks with all parties and report back to Philippe.

Individual evidence

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