“Tomorrow I will resign as prime minister.” She announced it the Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander De Crooadmitting the defeat of his Flemish Liberals and Democrats (Open Vld) party in the European elections.
With almost 90% of votes counted, Open Vld is currently at 5.9% in the federal elections (8.1% in regional elections), down 2.7% and 5% respectively from the previous elections. “But the liberals are strong, we will be back,” she added. It is customary in Belgium for the prime minister to resign after elections so that the king can begin talks to form a new government. De Croo is therefore expected to serve as interim prime minister.
Belgium to the right, but not too much
Belgium veers to the right but not too much. The Flemish separatists confirm themselves as the country’s leading force with 17% of the vote while the far right of Vlaams Belang stops at 14%.
Even in the French-speaking southern part of the country, Wallonia, voters have moved to the right, with the Francophone liberal reformist Movement (MR) expected to become the main party with around 32% of the French-speaking votes, followed by the centrists of Les Engagés , breaking the monopoly of the Socialist Party that led the region for decades.
Before the elections, separatist leader Bart De Wever ruled out governing with Vlaams Belang and will therefore have to find allies in the center and centre-left to form a majority in the country’s federal parliament. The Flemings are the majority in Belgium but the electoral system is designed to ensure a balance of power between Francophone and Flemish regions.
