Ahmed Laaouej (PS) wants a Brussels government before July 21 and looks to the left: “Communication stunt”
A year after the elections, Brussels still has no government. PS leader Ahmed Laaouej now wants to change that. He has launched an initiative to form a government of left -wing parties before July 21. Before that he looks at the French -speaking side at PvdA/PTB, Ecolo and PS, on the Dutch -speaking side, they are Groen, Team Fouad Ahidar and Vooruit. It would be the first time that the extremely left -wing party has been driving in a region.
The PS proposal states that Brussels must again have a budget balance in ten years. For the sake of clarity: Brussels has a budget deficit of 1.7 billion euros, on a total budget of 7 billion euros. The debt mountain amounts to 15.6 billion euros, and another 6.4 million euros is added every day. Reasonably hopeless. Prime Minister Bart De Wever even threatened to act as the IMF (International Monetary Fund).
Stumbling block
According to Dave Sinardet, professor of political sciences at the VUB, the chances of success are small as long as MR and PS are not talking to each other. According to Sinardet, the advantage of the PS proposal is that the left -wing parties at least sat around the table with each other and that they have a majority in both language groups. The MR, the largest party in Brussels, was not invited, but launched its own basic text.
In recent weeks, midfield has put a lot of pressure on Laaouej to form a left -wing coalition. « Laaouej thinks on the one hand: » If it succeeds, why not, « and otherwise it is a good communication stunt, » Sinardet argues.
A crucial question is whether PvdA wants to get into a government at all. So far, the extreme left has always refused. According to Sinardet, that is a conscious strategy. It seems unlikely that PvdA would suddenly step into a government in a context where a lot of money has to be found. Moreover, Vooruit does not want to work with the party. « There is a Vooruit Nationaal in Arizona. It would be a spread position if the Brussels department would then form an anti-arsonacoalition, » says Sinardet.
Real consultation
Team Fouad Ahidar wants to give the proposal a chance if the figures are correct. « We have won the elections, we did not come to sit along the sidelines. » Vooruit wants to be constructive, but doubts whether making a coalition is possible. Team Fouad Ahidar is also difficult for the socialists. Ahidar comes from the socialist party, but was put out because of a dispute around anesthetized slaughter.
Green is also willing to negotiate, but requires to organize a « real consultation ». According to Frédéric De Gucht (Open VLD), the PS proposal does not have the solutions that Brussels needs. « I don’t hesitate to go into the sea of the PS, but from green and ahead. » Benjamin Dalle (CD&V) is also in favor: « We need a remediation of finances, safety and cleanliness. We think PvdA is unable to do so. »
