Citizens’ collective calls for mediator duo to be appointed to break Brussels political deadlock

As Brussels clocked up more than 600 days without a regional government, political parties attended a meeting at a secret location on Sunday in a bid to break the current deadlock.

Convened by citizens’ movements Respect Brussels, it brought together the democratic parties currently involved in the discussions to form a government, including the N-VA, the PTB and Team Fouad Ahidar.

A wide range of stakeholders supported the initiative, including WeAreBrussels, employers’ federations and the social sector, as well as Brussels neighbourhood committees, reports RTBF.

By accepting the invitation from the citizen movement, “all parties confirm their commitment to achieving a fully-fledged Brussels government,” said organisers in a statement.

They highlighted the fact that this was the first time since the elections in June 2024 that all the parties had gathered around the same table.

“Although they have very divergent visions for the future of Brussels, they have chosen, through their participation, to seek consensus and common ground in order to keep democracy alive, without denying their differences,” the organisers added.

A pair of mediators tasked with diffusing inter-party tension - whose identities are not yet known - would aim to break the current political stalemate in the capital.

“At the end of this initial conciliation meeting, the political parties approved the concept of appointing a Brussels-based mediation duo, one French-speaking and one Dutch-speaking,” said the citizens' movement.  

While the various political parties largely supported the idea of an MR-Groen duo, former Groen negotiator Elke Van den Brandt, who has experience of the role in recent months, made it conditional on lifting certain “taboos”.

The first centred on the participation of the party Team Fouad Ahidar in a potential majority, which is accused by some parties of being too communitarian.

This condition could be lifted, but not at the price of concessions to the principle of state neutrality, particularly in the eyes of MR and Défi, said Van de Brandt. 

Another key condition concerned the participation of the Flemish nationalist party N-VA, which is not yet accepted by parties such as PS, Ecolo and Défi. 

The Socialist Party (PS) reiterated its opposition to N-VA’s vision for a confederal political landscape in Belgium. Alain Maron (Ecolo) pointed out that among the French-speaking Greens, the party's position needed to be determined by its general assembly. 

Apart from the Worker’s Party of Belgium (PTB), all parties agreed in principle to the idea of €1 billion in budget cuts.

Olivier Maingain, mayor of Woluwe-Saint-Lambert and founder of the Lib-res party, emphasised the need to draft a budget.

"I believe it’s time for those with a sense of responsibility to take on their responsibilities. Let’s start with a budget for 2026," he said.

"This will allow everyone to clearly express their priorities. Talking to each other isn’t an insurmountable task for people who should have common goals.” 

For Georges-Louis Bouchez (MR), the budget was an urgent matter. “We need to send signals to the ratings agencies to avoid a downgrade and an increase in interest rates.

"But in fact, when you create a budget, you decide on all policies. Creating a budget without a government makes no sense because it’s the government that has to implement it."

He added: “The next step is to form a government within two to three weeks, and I hope that today will allow us to rebuild bridges.”

For Fouad Ahidar, the ball was still in the court of Yvan Verougstraete (Les Engagés), whose government formation mission failed in mid-January.

“I think we should ask Yvan Verougstraete to continue his mission, and if he can’t, let’s ask civil society, as we are today, to lead the formation negotiations. That might be less divisive. You can see that this is just a matter of ego.”

Sunday’s meeting took place in a calm and positive atmosphere, according to Respect Brussels. “This attitude is essential for the future success of the negotiations,” it added.

The collective’s signatories confirmed their availability to the future mediators.

Prior to the all-party talks, Respect Brussels and WeAreBrussels gathered several hundred people on Friday evening to condemn the absence of government after 600 days and the consequences for the region’s residents. 

The collectives announced that other citizens, social and cultural initiatives are planned in the coming days in a continuing bid to break the political deadlock in Brussels.

Photo: ©Respect Brussels