Bart De Wever on the failed emergency government: “The final reckoning in 2024 threatens to be devastating”

“If you can’t agree during the biggest crisis since World War II, when can you?” During the De Zevende Dag and De Afspraak news shows, Bart De Wever came back to the failed formation of an emergency government to deal with the corona crisis. According to De Wever, PS chairman Paul Magnette notably made one mistake after another. At the same time, the N-VA chairman looked ahead to the situation after the crisis. “The final reckoning in 2024 threatens to be devastating.”

Friday in De Afspraak, De Wever said that the N-VA will support the special powers of the Wilmès government. “Even though no one has yet explained to me why the caretaker government needs those special powers, my party will approve any measure to deal with the corona crisis. That’s what the people expect of us now.”

Broken government

De Wever is still of the opinion that an emergency government would have been better able to keep the corona crisis under control. “It was the urge to deal with the corona crisis in a decent way, with a broad base, that was the focus of the whole episode. But what do we get out of it now? A broken government.”

Who is the leader of the PS?

According to Bart De Wever, Paul Magnette has been a failure as chairman of the PS. “We had an agreement. If I give my word as party leader, I keep it. Who is the leader of the PS? I don’t know. “Anyone who ever negotiates with Magnette now knows that you can’t count on him.”

Humiliated sister parties

According to De Wever, the PS and MR have basically wiped the floor with their Flemish sister parties. “I see a PS and an MR living in their own world. They take no account whatsoever of their Flemish sister parties. It’s even too much to inform them in advance of their decisions.”

Looking ahead to post-corona

The N-VA chairman also looked ahead to the post-corona era. “A guarantee fund is being set up. We will have to decide who we will help with it.” According to De Wever, that will not be easy. “If you can’t agree during the biggest crisis since World War II, when can you?”

The bill for last week’s political spectacle will follow in 2024 at the latest, according to De Wever. “How will this country move on after the crisis? The final reckoning threatens to be devastating.”