Matthias Diependaele: “State reform is essential to safeguard our prosperity for the long term”

During a debate on Terzake, Flemish Minister-President Matthias Diependaele stressed the urgent need for far-reaching state reform. “If you genuinely want structural change, then you also need to reform the structures of this country,” he said firmly.

“We joined the federal government with one very clear objective: to protect Flemish prosperity and ensure it remains secure for future generations,” Matthias Diependaele explained. “But of course, nobody knows who will be in power in 2029. Today, federal policy largely follows a Flemish approach, but if we want to secure that course in the long run, we will have to reshape the country’s institutional framework.”

Accountability as the key principle

For the Minister-President, one of the core problems is the lack of accountability among the various levels of government. He argues for a system in which politicians are directly accountable to voters for both spending and revenue.

“Simply spending money is easy enough. Politicians should also have the responsibility to explain to voters where that money is supposed to come from,” said Matthias Diependaele.

According to him, the solution lies in simpler and more coherent sets of powers — such as labour market policy or healthcare — aimed at strengthening prosperity in the future. “Across Europe, economic dynamism is increasingly concentrated in the regions. So give those regions all the tools they need.”

No Flemish cheque for Walloon deficits

While Flanders is striving to balance its budget, other regions continue to post deep deficits. Matthias Diependaele was unequivocal: Flanders cannot simply be expected to foot the bill for others.

“We are already contributing substantially to that situation today. By working towards a balanced budget, we are already doing far more than other regions that continue to build up even larger debts.”

He also firmly rejected calls to use Flemish budget surpluses to offset the federal deficit. “Flanders also has major needs, particularly in education and childcare. It would be deeply unfair to deny Flemish citizens additional investment in those areas in order to generate surpluses for others.”

The courage to reform

The Minister-President called for political courage to break through institutional deadlock.

“What is so unfortunate in this country is that things first have to become seriously bad before we find the courage to truly tackle the problems.”

Without fundamental state reform, he warned, the financial burden will once again fall on Flemish taxpayers. “Anyone who today lacks the courage to acknowledge that state reform is necessary will sooner or later have to explain to Flemish voters why it once again costs us money to fill the financial black holes in Wallonia and Brussels,” Matthias Diependaele concluded. “If we fail to implement structural reforms now, Flanders will ultimately pay the price.”