‘Selling Brussels to Flanders […], over my dead body’: Elio Di Rupo reaffirms that PS cannot possibly negotiate with N-VA

by Leiegast

21 comments

  2. To avoid having to sell, Brussels needs to be in a financial situation where it can avoid having to sell. 

    And just to clarify, throwing money out of the windows does not help getting in such a situation.

  3. **A new stalemate in Brussels after the N-VA claimed the appointment of the Secretary of State, initially presented by the MR as ‘without party membership’. For Elio Di Rupo, now an MEP (PS) and guest on Matin Première, there is no question of negotiating with the Flemish nationalist party. Brussels is predominantly francophone and cannot become Flemish, asserts the former Belgian prime minister.**

    ‘*If you want to ask the PS to sell Brussels to Flanders, I’ll tell you in advance: whether it’s me, my successor or the bureau… over my dead body.*’ The Brussels Region may have been without a government for over a year, but the PS does not want to negotiate with the N-VA. Elio Di Rupo reminds us of this. His main reason is always the same: the nationalism of the Flemish party. *‘Brussels is essentially French-speaking and Brussels must remain Brussels, a capital region for all Belgians’. And he points to the presence of Dutch speakers in the capital: ‘8 to 9% of the population’*, he claims. This figure is based on the language used for tax declarations, since no language count is permitted in this bilingual region as in the rest of the country.

    ‘Behind the appearance of being like everyone else, this is not the case’, according to the former president of the PS. ‘*The N-VA dreams of incorporating Brussels into the Flemish Community and hopes to be independent by tomorrow. And if that’s not possible, they’re thinking of Belgian confederalism with Brussels integrated into Flanders. This is the fundamental reason why there is so much reticence about the presence of N-VA ministers in the Brussels government.*’

    **An independent Flanders**

    The former Prime Minister recalls the N-VA’s statutes: ‘*It is a democratic party. So I don’t confuse it with the extreme right. But it is a nationalist party that hopes one day to see the independence of Flanders and, in the meantime, confederalism.*’

    As a reminder, the first article of the N-VA’s foundations can be translated as follows: ‘*In its quest for better governance and more democracy, the New Flemish Alliance logically opts for the independent republic of Flanders, a member state of a democratic European Union.*’ For Elio Di Rupo, this simple sentence is a no-go. ‘*This is the biggest trap for French-speakers,*’ says the current MEP. ‘*Power will be concentrated in the Flemish government. Crumbs for the French-speakers. And that’s going to be a difficult situation.*’ A situation that is out of the question, since the N-VA does not have the two-thirds majority needed for this constitutional change.

    ‘*We’re not there yet. But they are paving the way.’* On what issues? No precise answer. ‘*You can see it in everything, in the way they behave. A Prime Minister who doesn’t go before the media after the Council of Ministers, which has always been the Belgian tradition. He lets his ministers say what they want him to say, keeping a low profile to prepare for the future.*’

    **A party elected by the people of Brussels**

    The N-VA won 11.91% of the vote in Brussels, putting it in 3rd place among the Flemish parties. A listener wondered: ‘*What does it matter if the N-VA is around the table? And especially if the party was elected by the Flemish people?*’ According to this listener, these are ‘*lamentable blockages that take no account of the population’*. While Elio Di Rupo differentiated between the N-VA and the far right, he did not hesitate to draw parallels with the darkest periods of our history. ‘*Mussolini and Hitler were elected. It’s not enough to be elected to pursue policies in the interests of the people.’* These words illustrate the extent of the stalemate in Brussels.

  4. **The Brussels government formation is a magnified reflection of the broader dysfunction within the Belgian political system.**
    Firstly, the prolonged deadlock,. Brussels has been without a government for over a year, highlights the chronic inability of parties to form coalitions across linguistic and ideological divides.
    Secondly, the current workaround, where MR proposed appointing a so-called “N-VA-compatible” secretary of state from civil society, underscores the convoluted compromises needed to satisfy both French- and Dutch-speaking parties without formally including the N-VA.
    Thirdly, the exclusion of key parties like CD&V and N-VA from the Brussels negotiations, despite their electoral weight, illustrates how party vetoes and mutual distrust often override democratic representation, a pattern seen at all levels of Belgian governance.

  5. *’Brussels is essentially French-speaking and Brussels must remain Brussels, a capital region for all Belgians’.*

    *–>* I can’t be the only one that sees a conflict between these two statements right?

  6. I am a Flemish Belgian and not a Flamingant but I say. Brussels should not be region it should be a city. If NewnYork can operate ‘just’ as a city and Antwerp, so can Brussels.

  9. This man is a walking failure and so was his government as well. He shouldn’t be speaking at all.

  10. The PS’s behaviour is simply undemocratic and it’s their sole fault that the whole Brussels formation is blocked.

  11. It’s bilingual. I can practically file a complaint against him.

  12. If we must keep the regions, why not create a Brabant region? Could even rename it Brussels…

  13. Dan maar niks zeker?
    Binnen paar jaar is dat toch allemaal Team Fouad Ahidar. Of soortgelijke

  14. Ja ja we hebben het al genoeg gehoort dat wij de sale flamand zijn pfft.

  16. Rather run it in the ground right, nothing more patriotic than that.

  17. It’s not as if PS negotiated with N-VA back in 2019 …

  18. Well we’re not selling it to the PS mobsters either Elio, you’ll have to learn how to share.

  19. NVA using Trump tactics…

    this proposal is about as serious as Canada becoming a US state.

  20. I’m sorry, what im the adolf fuck did i miss that flanders wants to buy brussels?

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