The man leading the talks on the formation of a new federal government, the Flemish nationalist leader Bart De Wever, has had his mission as “Formateur” extended until Thursday 17 October.
On Monday morning Mr De Wever met with Belgium’s Head of State King Filip to bring him up to date on the progress made so far. 5 parties are involved in the talks that it is hoped will result in the formation of a new federal government.
The parties at the negotiating table are the Mr De Wever’s party N-VA, the Flemish socialist party Vooruit, the Flemish Christian democrat party CD&V, the Francophone centrist party Les Engagés and the Francophone liberal party MR.
The next meeting between the King and Mr De Wever will take place on Thursday 17 October, 4 days after the local elections.
Party leaders hold meeting on Monday afternoon
At 1pm on Monday the leaders of the 5 parties that are involved in the coalition talks got together for a meeting during which they discuss how their respective groups in the Federal Parliament can cooperate during the coming week.
The meeting was to have taken place on Friday but was postponed until after Mr De Wever’s meeting with the King.