This is Belgium: Charles Michel flunks Charles Michel

“At Plopsa Coo, the future President of the European Council Charles Michel raps the Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel on his knuckles. The level of Belgian politics continues to surprise and amaze, and the budget debate deserves to be handled more seriously.” The N-VA responds to Charles Michel’s statements about the Belgian budget deficit.

Marrakesh more important than keeping budget on track

The N-VA expects more gravity from the Prime Minister, rather than feigned indignation: “When the government fell, the budget was on track with a deficit of 0.8 percent. Prime Minister Michel felt it was more important to sign the Marrakesh Pact than to keep the budget on track. The minority government chucked the Summer Agreement and the job deal in the bin. Even agreed implementation decisions have been shoved into the drawer by the minority government, never to see the light of day again. Nevertheless, we have always maintained our position as a constructive partner.”

MR as the worst student

The N-VA is of the opinion that modesty should play the key role in the budget debate. “The ageing of the population is reaching its peak. What we are seeing now proves Belgium’s failure. In the past, the purple and purple-green governments allowed the accounts to derail when economic times were good, although it was already clear that pension costs would explode. We have not been able to maintain the ambition and spirit that existed in the early years of the so-called Swedish coalition. The traditional parties lack the will and the plan to reform and save money. This was also apparent from the Federal Planning Bureau’s calculations of the election programmes. With an excess of EUR 9.5 billion, the MR actually came out as the worst student in this exercise.”

A big Fail

At the end of October, the granting of the provisional twelfths will return to Parliament. The N-VA wants to adopt a constructive attitude: “The government in current affairs must assist Parliament instead of delaying the necessary reforms. To start with, let’s dust off the Summer Agreement and the job deal. Anyone who is able to work must find a job. Otherwise, we will never get the budget in order and we risk being condemned by the European Union. It would be a pity if European President Michel had to give Prime Minister Michel’s homework a big Fail.”