Axel Ronse: “We’re facing the political challenge of the century”

Axel Ronse, leader of the N-VA parliamentary group in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, was a guest on the current affairs programme Terzake on VRT Canvas, marking the start of the new parliamentary year.
One striking moment: all party group leaders jointly called for cooperation. “We’re facing the political challenge of the century. People couldn’t care less about personal vendettas,” said Ronse.

Restoring order to the budget

“By 2029, Belgium will be facing a budget deficit of no less than 40 billion euros. None of us around this table want the next generation’s taxes to go solely towards paying the interest on the debts we’re racking up today.”

For Axel Ronse, the state of the budget is currently his main concern: “The situation is extremely serious. If you compare Belgium to a family business, we’re the fourth generation taking over. But the third generation — the spoiled heirs, like Guy Verhofstadt — squandered everything instead of building prosperity. Our generation has now united under the Arizona flag. And despite our political differences, we agree on this: we’re going to get this country back on track.”

No more coalition agreement as a framework

“The debt must come down. We're heading toward a deficit of over 40 billion euros — that's more than 6.5% of our GDP The gross domestic product (GDP) is the total monetary value of all goods and services produced within a country, both by companies and the government. This term is usually used as a benchmark for a country’s prosperity. This is why the N-VA closely follows the evolution of the Belgian GDP. GDP . Completely unacceptable. That’s why we’re going to tackle the budget head-on: streamline, cut, reform.”

According to Ronse, the government now has something of a blank cheque: “We’re in uncharted territory. There’s no longer a coalition agreement to guide us, like we had with the Easter and summer deals. So yes, we’re navigating unknown waters. But I trust that, under the leadership of Bart De Wever, the ministers will deliver a solid outcome.”

Three political options

“There are really three political choices,” said Ronse. “The first is Team Class Struggle: the PS, Ecolo, and the communists. They claim there’s no problem, oppose every reform, keep the borders wide open for migration, and do nothing about long-term illness. Then there’s Team Kitchen Timer, the Vlaams Belang. Their message is: let the PS ruin the country for another five years, wait until the kitchen timer goes off, and somehow everything will be magically fixed. And finally, there’s the group that actually takes responsibility: us — Arizona.”

A clear way forward

How? “Our principle is simple: more people need to contribute. Belgium has the shortest careers in all of Europe. In Wallonia, the unemployment figures are downright shocking. In Charleroi and Liège alone, over 2,000 people have been unemployed for more than 20 years — and still receive benefits. There’s no getting them back to work. That has to stop.”

“Because if we get more people into work, we’ll have more contributors, fewer benefits to pay, and a growing economy. Businesses will finally find the workers they need to produce. That’s the path to digging ourselves out of this hole,” Ronse concluded.