Wilmès II government

Headquarters of the federal government in the Wetstraat / Rue de la loi in Brussels

The Wilmès II government has been the government of Belgium since March 19, 2020. It succeeded the Wilmès I government , which was only executive in office and is identical to it in terms of personnel.

Previous governments

The last elected government of Michel I under Prime Minister Charles Michel resigned on December 9, 2018 after the Flemish nationalists of the N-VA left the government in the dispute over the Belgian recognition of the UN migration pact. The newly formed "blue-orange" government Michel II consisted of the Walloon liberal MR , the Flemish liberal Open Vld and the Flemish Christian Democratic CD&V , but had no parliamentary majority. Before a vote of no confidence requested by the Socialists and Greens, the government resigned on December 18, 2018 and has been in office since then.

The parliamentary elections on May 26, 2019 did nothing to change this, as the three parties of the minority government did not have a majority and numerous attempts to form a government failed.

Before Charles Michel took office as President of the European Council on December 1, 2019 , he announced his resignation on October 26, 2019. At his suggestion, the former budget minister Sophie Wilmès was appointed by the king as the new executive prime minister on October 27, 2019.

The Wilmès I government was largely congruent with the previous Michel II government and remained executive in office, while further attempts to mediate to form a new government failed.

Government formation

Parliamentary basis of the Wilmès II government, with the three parties that provide the ministers and previously formed the Wilmès I minority government, in full colors; and hatched the six parties that agreed to the crisis government

Most recently, on February 19, 2020, King Philippe commissioned the chairmen of the two chambers of parliament and liberal politicians Patrick Dewael (chairman of the chamber ) and Sabine Laruelle (chairman of the Senate ) with a new mediation mission. With the emerging COVID-19 pandemic , the call for an effective crisis government became stronger. After some quarrels, nine parties agreed to confirm the Wilmès I government for a transitional period.

On March 16, 2020, Philippe Wilmès commissioned the formation of a government, and on March 17, 2020 the Wilmès II government was sworn in, which is identical to the previous Wilmès I government. On March 19, 2020, the government received the confidence of the Belgian Chamber of Deputies by 84 votes to 44 without abstentions, with 22 MPs absent. However, this crisis government was limited to six months. In her government statement, Wilmès promised to be a "loyal partner" and had to promise to ask the vote of confidence after six months and to deal exclusively with the corona pandemic and its economic and financial effects until then. In return, on March 26, she was granted exceptional authorizations for this period, allowing her to rule by decree ("Arrêté / Besluit"), under the control of a specially formed parliamentary commission and subject to subsequent parliamentary approval.

composition

The government is identical to the previous executive government, Wilmès I, and consists of seven ministers - including the Prime Minister - of the Walloon liberal MR and three representatives each from the Flemish liberal Open Vld and the Flemish Christian Democratic CD&V .

Office	Surname		Political party		Term of office
Prime Minister responsible for Beliris and federal cultural institutions		Sophie Wilmès		MR	since March 19, 2020
Deputy Prime Minister European Affairs Justice in charge of building management		Koen Geens		CD&V	since March 19, 2020
Deputy Prime Minister of Finance, Development Aid responsible for combating tax fraud		Alexander De Croo		Open VLD	since March 19, 2020
Deputy Prime Minister Budget and Public Service responsible for the national lottery and science policy		David Clarinval		MR	since March 19, 2020
Appearance and Defense		Philippe Goffin		MR	since March 19, 2020
Security and Home Affairs responsible for foreign trade		Pieter De Crem		CD&V	since March 19, 2020
Social affairs, health, asylum and migration		Maggie De Block		Open VLD	since March 19, 2020
Pensions		Daniel Bacquelaine		MR	since March 19, 2020
Energy, environment and sustainability		Marie-Christine Marghem		MR	since March 19, 2020
Mobility responsible for Skeyes (formerly Belgocontrol) and the NMBS / SNCB		François Bellot		MR	since March 19, 2020
Medium-sized, self-employed, small and medium-sized enterprises, agriculture and social integration responsible for large cities		Denis Ducarme		MR	since March 19, 2020
Digital Agenda, Telecommunications and Post responsible for administrative simplification, combating social fraud, data protection and the North Sea		Philippe De Backer		Open VLD	since March 19, 2020
Employment, economy and consumer protection responsible for poverty reduction, equal opportunities and the disabled		Nathalie Muylle		CD&V	since March 19, 2020

Web links

• Premier.be - Official website of the Belgian Prime Minister (multilingual)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Tagesschau: Belgium's King accepts Michel's resignation. , online on December 21, 2019, [1] , accessed on March 9, 2019, 11:45 am
2. ↑ Belga : Sophie Wilmès nommée Première ministre par intérim, première femme à ce poste La Libre October 27, 2019, accessed online on October 27, 2019, 10:56 p.m. CET
3. ↑ King Philippe entrusts Sabine Laruelle and Patrick Dewael with a new mission. Belgian Broadcasting, February 19, 2020, accessed on February 21, 2020 . 
4. ↑ Wilmès II gains parliamentary confidence. Belgian Broadcasting, March 19, 2020, accessed March 28, 2020 . 
5. ^ ^{A b} Antoine Clevers: Sophie Wilmès aux députés: "Je serai une partenaire loyale". La Libre of March 20, 2020, pages 18-19
6. ^ Antonie Clevers: La Chambre accorde les pouvoirs spéciaux au gouvernement: une commission créée pour le surveiller. Vidéo on LaLibre.be of March 26, 2020, accessed on March 28, 2020, 11:25 pm, link