500 days without government: Leader of Brussels negotiations quits

As Brussels passed the 500-day mark without having formed a government, MR leader David Leisterh has announced that he is stepping down as formateur - the person responsible for leading the formation negotiations - saying he “no longer wants to be part of a system that stands in the way of necessary action”.

Leisterh, who is also mayor of Watermaal-Bosvoorde, has stepped down from the formateur role once before but says this time is the last. MR chairman Georges-Louis Bouchez will take over the role.

“Since the elections, I have done everything in my power to form a Brussels government, but today we have to admit that we have not succeeded,” Leisterh said in a statement.

“I believe that our political system, as it functions today, no longer provides an answer to the situation in Brussels. There are too many obstacles, too many calculations, too much fear of taking the necessary measures, even though we know they are indispensable.”

Leisterh led an attempt to draw up a Brussels budget with six parties in recent weeks but disagreements between his party (MR) and Ahmed Laaouej's PS are now causing those negotiations to falter.

Meanwhile, a majority on the Dutch-speaking side was still pending. At the end of November, Elke Van den Brandt (Groen) formed a coalition with Groen, N-VA, Open VLD and Vooruit.

But Ahmed Laaouej (PS) immediately made it clear that he did not want to work with the N-VA party, and since then, despite various initiatives, the MR party has not succeeded in forming a new Brussels government.

“I am leaving active national and regional politics because continuing under the current conditions would simply be a betrayal of what I believe in: sincerity, courage, responsibility,” said Leisterh.

“All of that matters. And here we are, already more than 500 days of nothingness. Five hundred days, that's crazy.

“In recent days, I have tried in vain to reach a budget agreement to save our region from the abyss.

“I believed that we needed to send a signal of confidence to Europe and to all those who still want to invest in Brussels, to the people of Brussels who are waiting for a change, but this goal was not shared by everyone.

"I have to admit that after 16 months of sincere efforts and failed attempts, I no longer see a solution. I only see a wall."

The departure of Leisterh, the leading player in the Brussels government formation, could mean a total reset of the formation process.

Just after the elections in June last year, Leisterh seemed the likely minister-president of Brussels after receiving 20,000 preferential votes and a clear lead for the French-speaking liberals.

But more than 500 days later, the Dutch- and French-speaking parties involved in forming a coalition have yet to succeed in establishing a government, rejecting Leisterh’s "best and final offer".

Bouchez will now try his hand as formateur, taking over Leisterh’s work.

According to reports, the six parties involved will continue negotiations on Friday.

“There is a shared desire to see this through to the end,” one negotiator said.