In the negotiations with the N-VA, many social demands of the PS were met “against all odds”. Chairman Paul Magnette said this in a Friday Facebook live with the militants.
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Magnette recalled the demands that the PS has put on the table in the context of the federal government formation: raising pensions to 1,500 euros, raising the lowest wages, refinancing health care, raising the lowest social allowances to the poverty threshold and the long-term funding of social security.
“Against all odds, together with our socialist comrades in the north, we were able to convince N-VA that progress had to be made in all these areas. We were largely heard, we were very close to significant social progress for our country ”, Magnette reflected on the formation attempt he undertook with N-VA chairman Bart De Wever.
Neither Greens nor Liberals
Magnette had to conclude, however, that “neither Liberals nor Greens wanted to continue in this direction. However, according to Magnette, what was on the table in the environmental field was almost the same result as in November, when the PS chairman wanted to launch a coalition with liberals and greens. He did not say a word about the preservation of a nuclear capacity, something that was also included in the draft agreement, according to De Wever.
Negotiations with the Flemish nationalists also dealt with institutional reforms. That is not the priority of the moment, Magnette acknowledged, but “at some point, before 2024, we must prepare to put Belgium in order”.
The PS does not rule out elections. But if a ballot box doesn’t provide clear opportunities for political majorities, then another round of negotiations will just come that is just as complicated than the current one, Magnette warned.
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