MR chairman Georges-Louis Bouchez wants a budget conclave with all party leaders of the majority, because he himself wants to sit at the government table. But if it depends on Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prévot (Les Engagés), Bouchez will not be there. “He had the opportunity to join the government and did not do so,” Prévot responds in our HLN podcast Het Rapport van de Wetstraat.
Journalist at HLN
Now that the search for at least 6.7 billion euros is getting closer for the De Wever government, Georges-Louis Bouchez (MR) is trying to secure his place at the table during the budget negotiations. “I propose a new conclave with all party leaders, as in the Royal Military Academy” (during the government negotiations in January last year, ed.)he said in Parliament last week.
But coalition partner Les EngagĂ©s does not like that, says Deputy Prime Minister Maxime PrĂ©vot in Het Rapport van de Wetstraat. “Mr. Bouchez had the opportunity to join the government a year and a half ago. He did not do so then. Party leaders do not make the budget, that is the responsibility of the government. So whoever sits at the government table makes the decisions,” it sounds strong.
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Prévot emphasizes in our podcast that saving 6.7 billion euros is sufficient to meet European standards. “But in the longer term it will not definitively get us out of trouble,” he admits. Almost every government party has already come up with red lines in recent weeks, but Prévot remains cautious. “If we want to succeed, we must avoid all populist proposals and red lines in the media. This will destroy the negotiations before they even start.”