The citizens' movements Respect Brussels and We Are Brussels are organising a new demonstration to put pressure on Brussels politicians to form a government. The protest will take place at the Beursplein on Friday 30 January. At that point, the capital will have been without a government for exactly 600 days. This is the seventh time that the organisations have called a demonstration.
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600 days without a government: People of Brussels take to the streets again on 30 January
Colin Clapson
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On Tuesday, the most recent Brussels formateur, i.e. the politician charged with forming a new Brussels regional government, Yvan Verougstraete (Francophone centrist Les Engagés), announced that he too was throwing in the towel.
For the action groups Respect Brussels and We Are Brussels, this is a reason to take to the streets once again. ‘Today, it is necessary to choose in favour of Brussels yet again and to promote an ambitious project for the region,’ responds Thierry Geertz of the business organisation Beci.
‘Six hundred days without a Brussels government means six hundred days without a regional prime minister to defend our interests,’ says Eric Vandezande of the citizens' collective 40 committees. He points to the asylum and migration crisis, the consequences of which are affecting Brussels harder and harder. "It is the federal government that has decided to concentrate the consequences of its mismanaged asylum and migration policy in Brussels. The result: 10,000 homeless people and 100,000 undocumented migrants. Is it any wonder that people in desperate situations try to survive by any means possible? Which prime minister will finally put an end to this culpable negligence towards Brussels on the part of the federal government?"
Seventh protest
In particular, the organisations are sounding the alarm about the essential social services that are coming under pressure and the erosion of confidence in the Brussels economy. ‘Public works are being postponed, jobs are being lost and people who every day work hard for Brussels are losing perspective,’ they say.
Security, poverty reduction and investment in mobility, housing and public space are also areas in which the citizens' movements see a decline. At the same time, the social sector points to the unpredictable climate in which it is forced to operate and the lack of investment in care and welfare.
At the beginning of January and as a protest Respect Brussels organised an alternative New Year's reception, directly opposite the entrance to the Brussels Parliament. At that same moment, Brussels politicians were celebrating the new year at their own official reception.
Now, the organisations are calling on Brussels residents and supporters to join them in a protest for the seventh time. They will gather at the Beursplein at 7 p.m. on 30 January to make their voices heard.