After a marathon of parliamentary debate that lasted two days and almost two full nights, the House of Representatives passed a vote of confidence in Belgium’s new federal government on Friday, the majority against the minority.
Deputies had taken turns criticising or defending the coalition agreement since Wednesday morning. The debate continued through the night and ended more than 40 hours later with a vote of confidence.
Already on Wednesday, the debate had already heated up to a fever pitch, with opposition members sharply criticising the government’s plans to tackle Belgium’s budget deficit, including reforms to pensions, social security and health care.
MPs from several parties, including the Flemish Vlaams Belang party and the French-speaking socialist PS party, questioned the feasibility of many of the positive economic effects the government is counting on to balance a budget of nearly 8 billion euros.
“An ambitious reform agenda will result in ambitious payback effects. You can rest assured that I will be the watchdog of my colleagues to make sure that this actually happens,” Budget minister Vincent Van Peteghem responed on Thursday evening.
Earlier on Thursday, after almost 28 hours of questioning, Prime Minister Bart de Wever criticised the length of the parliamentary debate itself. He said:
“I dare to ask out loud, is this way of debating really still of this time? Do we really still have to do it this way?”
Many MPs applauded de Wever for his comment, even though as prime minister he should not interfere in the organisation of parliamentary business. Adding that MPs were criticising the process behind the scenes while at the same time participating in the “sketch,” he said:
“You are applauding against yourself.”
De Wever also rejected accusations that his government would treat asylum seekers and other vulnerable people inhumanely, insisting that his coalition “will not refuse to tell the truth as it is and make decisions,” even if those decisions are difficult.
Development aid
Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot criticised the government’s plans to cut development co-operation funding by a quarter in the next legislature.
“The government is putting people’s lives at risk and we will continue to fight against this,” Staf Aerts of the Flemish green party Groen said.
The vote of confidence was originally due to take place around 4 p.m. on Thursday but was postponed due to protracted discussions. The de Weever government’s coalition agreement received 81 votes of confidence, 66 votes against and 0 abstentions.
