After eight months of intense negotiating, Belgium has formed a new federal government following the elections of the ninth of June 2024. The government’s coalition agreement was finally reached on 31 January 2025, bringing an end to a political deadlock.
Belgium’s governmental system is one based on compromise, as no single party ever wins an outright majority. The proportional representation system necessarily means that multiple parties must negotiate and form a coalition to govern, often resulting in lengthy discussions between different ideological and, in Belgium’s case, linguistic groups. This contrasts sharply with the UK’s first-past-the-post system, which leads to just one party imposing its programme.
The new federal government is nicknamed ‘Arizona’ because of the colours in the flag of the American state which correspond colours of the parties: yellow for N-VA (New Flemish Alliance), red for Vooruit (Flemish socialist party), blue for the MR (francophone Reformist Movement), and orange for CD&V (Flemish Christian Democrats) and Les Engagés (francophone centrist party).
The new federal government is nicknamed ‘Arizona’ because of the colours in the flag of the American state which correspond colours of the parties.
Bart De Wever, in his capacity as leader of the biggest party, was assigned the role of formateur by the King, meaning it was his job to lead the negotiation discussions. Noticeable is that Flanders’ second biggest winners in June, Vlaams Belang (Flemish Importance), were not invited to be part of the recently elected government. Because the party was convicted for racism in 1992, the other Belgian parties refuse to ever form a government with them, regardless of their election results. This practise of excluding parties from potential coalitions is called a ‘cordon sanitaire,’ as if excluding the infected patient from healthy ones.
Noticeable is that Flanders’ second biggest winners in June, Vlaams Belang (Flemish Importance), were not invited to be part of the recently elected government…This practise of excluding parties from potential coalitions is called a ‘cordon sanitaire,’ as if excluding the infected patient from healthy ones.
The negotiations faced significant challenges and the local elections running through them in October 2024 caused further delays. The final agreement was eventually reached after an intense fifty-hour conclave held at the Royal Military School in Brussels which entailed complete isolation from outside influences and the press until they came out with their official agreement on January 31st, 2025.
Some of the most noticeable points of the coalition agreement include a first time limitation of unemployment benefits in time, whilst benefits will remain indexed. The pension reform will keep retirement age at 67, whilst rewarding those who work longer. These reforms should ensure that working is always the more financially rewarding option.
In the healthcare sector, an extension of time in which abortion is allowed is being considered, although the exact number of weeks is yet to be decided upon. Hospitals will have to cooperate more to save money and parental leave reforms will allow not just parents but also grand- and foster parents to take leave for childcare.
Belgium will further align its asylum policies with the European migration deal which will restrict asylum requests from individuals who have applied in multiple EU countries. Stricter family reunification rules and tougher conditions for permanent residency will also be enforced, including mandatory language courses and integration exams.
In the theme of energy and climate, Belgium aims for climate neutrality by 2050 and plans to become independent of non-EU energy. The new government will also phase out fossil fuel subsidies and wants to invest in its nuclear power plants to ensure energy stability.
Arizona promises to invest in security and law enforcement and to focus on a national safety plan for train stations, particularly Brussels-Midi (South), an area that has been suffering from increasing drug cartel-related violence.
Finally, on an institutional level, plans are in the works to abolish the Senate (the Belgian House of Lords), as their role has become increasingly insignificant over the past years.
As shown by the agreed upon points, every coalition party, despite the difference in ideologies, has managed to put their mark on the finalised agreement. The socialists got the indexation of benefits, whilst right wing parties secured the limitation on unemployment benefits, no new taxes, a stricter migration policy and more investment in defence.
Although lengthy, these aren’t the longest negotiations Belgium has ever seen — in 2010-2011, the country went a world record braking 541 days without a federal government. However, because Belgium is a federal state with multiple levels of government, the country can still function, even without a federal government. The regional governments in Flanders and Wallonia hold significant powers in areas such as education, agriculture and the economy, and, in contrast to the federal level, the regional authorities were formed quickly after the elections, this time around too. Only the region of Brussels still remains in a completemy blocked, as the Francophone socialists currently refuse to negotiate with N-VA, which now holds the prime ministerial position at the federal level.
Although lengthy, these aren’t the longest negotiations Belgium has ever seen — in 2010-2011, the country went a world record braking 541 days without a federal government. However, because Belgium is a federal state with multiple levels of government, the country can still function, even without a federal government.
The newly formed federal government will be led by Prime Minister Bart De Wever from N-VA. Remarkable is, however, is that N-VA states in its party statutes that they strive for an independent Flanders, whilst Bart De Wever is supposed to be Prime Minister to all Belgians alike.
