MR warns of dangers Open Vld proposal on automatic appointment formateur | Interior

Open VLD wants to introduce a federal electoral district, so that all Belgians can vote for the same candidates. This would fill 20 of the 150 seats. The largest party with the largest vote can then automatically become a formateur. If he fails, it’s the turn of the second list, and so on. After six months of fruitless attempts, automatic new elections follow.

The MR supports the idea of ​​a federal electoral district, as stated in the party’s electoral programme, Bouchez confirmed to Belga. He is also in favor of the prime minister coming from the federal constituency, but the automatic designation of the formateur entails the risk that an extreme right-wing candidate, for example from Vlaams Belang, will appear. This is not only dangerous, but also a waste of time due to a lack of potential coalition partners, the MR emphasizes.

The party also does not want the king to lose a number of prerogatives, given his role as a stabiliser. For MR, deadlines can be imposed in the formation process, but not as Open Vld wants. The party wants the formateur to give explanations at regular intervals in Parliament, which decides whether the assignment will be extended or whether new elections will be held.

The PS does not want to respond to the Open Vld proposals. But the idea of ​​a federal constituency has long been shared by the “Pavia Group”, a group of thinkers on democracy. PS chairman Paul Magnette was part of it, the party says.

In the past, the PS has repeatedly spoken out in favor of a federal constituency. But consideration must be given to the modalities: the number of seats, guarantees about the balance between Flemish and French speakers, the strengthening of democracy and the preservation of the cordon sanitaire.