Brussels, February 3 The new government was sworn in after months of political deadlock in the European country of Belgium. Prime Minister Bart De Wever and 14 ministers of his cabinet were sworn in in front of Belgian King Philippe at a swearing-in ceremony held at the Royal Palace in Brussels on Monday.
Bart De Wever is the leader of the Flemish nationalist party New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), and this is the first time a Flemish nationalist is leading a federal government.
This new government is known as the “Arizona Coalition,” which includes 5 major political parties. These are the N-VA, the Flemish Christian Democrats, the socialist Vooruit, the French-speaking Reformist Movement (MR) and the centrist Les Engages. These parties reached an agreement after months of tough negotiations on budget cuts, tax increases and pension reforms, aimed at stabilizing Belgium’s public finances.
The priorities of the new government include increasing the defense budget, improving healthcare, and implementing a strict asylum policy. The process of forming a government in Belgium is often long and complex, as the country’s three major regions—Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels-Capital—operate under different economic, social and administrative systems. In addition, Belgium is divided into three linguistic communities. These include Dutch, French and German. Each of these has its own regional governments.
In July last year, King Philippe tasked Bart De Wever with forming a federal government. He held talks with several political parties to form a coalition, including the French-speaking Mouvement Réformateur (MR) and Les Anges, and the Dutch-speaking Christian Democrats (CD&V) and the socialist Vooruit. The coalition talks focused on socio-economic reforms, investment in healthcare, increasing the purchasing power of low-income people and providing employment to the unemployed.
The formation of a new government is an important step for Belgium, as it ends long-standing political instability and paves the way for the country to move forward towards economic and social reforms.
