LOOK. Magnette (PS) wants to become prime minister after elections 2024, De Wever (N-VA): “A big fat no” | Instagram VTM NEWS

The water is deep between the socialist and nationalist party chairmen. In the interview with ‘Le Soir’ that appeared on Thursday morning, Magnette clearly stated that he was not pleased with De Wever’s idea of ​​splitting Belgium “extralegally”. “I will do everything I can to stop N-VA and its confederalism. De Wever is almost talking about a coup d’état, alors là, franchement …”, he notes.

On Wednesday afternoon, the N-VA chairman made it clear that he was not a fan of the PS chairman as Belgian prime minister. He does not like to join a government with a PS prime minister. The interview can be viewed at the top of this article. Whether De Wever wants to become prime minister himself? To which he replies somewhat evasively: “I am willing to do anything to achieve confederalism.”

At ‘Le Soir’, Magnette indicates that the federal coalition after the 2024 elections does not have to be an exact copy of the current one. For example, there is the issue that the Flemish parties in the De Croo government do not have a majority in the language group. “It makes sense to form a government that has a majority in the north and south of the country,” says Magnette now.

Moreover, the preference of the PS chairman goes to a majority that is as “progressive as possible”. He is not keen on collaborating with the communists of PVDA-PTB. According to him, they don’t even want to be in power. “They just hid under the table,” he says about the fact that two aldermen’s mandates were offered to PVDA members after the elections in Charleroi.

Magnette will lead the list in Hainaut in the 2024 federal elections for the French-speaking socialists. South of the language border, gossip has been going on for some time that Magnette could move to the international level. He vehemently denies that. “Let’s be clear. I will not be a candidate for a European or other international job”, he responds.

But as convinced Magnette sounded in ‘Le Soir’, he was so nuanced at radio station Bel-RTL. Watch part of his passage in the video below. He says he will first focus on his re-election as PS chairman at the beginning of March and does not want to make any statements for the time being about what will follow after the parliamentary elections in 2024. (…) If the socialist family becomes the largest in the country, I will not renounce the responsibilities that come with it.”

When asked about the chance that not himself, but Vooruit chairman Conner Rousseau will become prime minister, Magnette points out that the Flemish socialists would receive 15 to 16 percent of the vote, according to the polls. However, he also sees the “positive dynamics” within Vooruit and says he will “do everything I can to support my colleague and friend Conner Rousseau”.

LOOK. In September 2020, Magnette was still amicably next to Alexander De Croo when he announced the coalition agreement. He then left the premiership to De Croo.