After Mons, a second Belgian municipality therefore falls into the hands of a left-wing majority including the PTB. This is a first in the capital.
The act of presentation of the mayor was even signed by these three parties: Charles Spapens (PS) will therefore wear the mayoral sash, while an MR-Défi cartel, led by Cédric Pierre-De Permentier (MR), was came first in the municipal election of October 13.
“PS and Ecolo bear the heavy responsibility for the choice of division”: In Forest, MR and Défi denounce the rise of the PTB in the majority
In a press release, Charles Spapens, Séverine de Laveleye, head of the Ecolo list, and Simon de Beer, head of the PTB list, welcomed “a majority of progress“who wants”develop a serious, realistic and coherent project for a prosperous municipality”.
“A terrible signal”
“It is a terrible signal to Foresters and to all democrats to join forces with an extremist party to guarantee the maintenance of the previous coalition in power,” retorted Cédric Pierre-De Permentier (MR) in the DH.
“The people of Forest and Brussels will not forgive you for this unconscious bet“, added Christophe De Beukelaer (Les Engagés).
The PS points out the fact that Les Engagés refused to join the majority in Forest, without the MR. “As for the MR, he proposed to us to throw Écolo to give us the mayorate. We considered the approach inelegant, even though our axis with Écolo was public“, points out a socialist source.
In practice, the Forest majority will only be put in place after the vote of the local sections of the PS, Ecolo and PTB, within a good week. “But it should just be a formality,” sums up a socialist.
While her party negotiates with the PTB, the mayor of Forest announces her departure from Écolo: “I do not find myself in the coalition that is taking shape”
The MR-PS-Engaged axis put to the test
The Forest agreement is not the only source of animosity between David Leisterh and Ahmed Laaouej. Strong friction has surrounded the PS’s proposed ordinance in recent hours aimed at going back on full decumulation. The socialists, who had believed they could count on the support of the MR, felt let down by the liberals. This text was to allow several deputies (the socialists Ahmed Laaouej, Ridouane Chahid and the liberals David Leisterh and Vincent De Wolf) to remain impeded mayors during the legislature.
Very lively discussions took place behind the scenes during this long weekend. Ahmed Laaouej, leader of the PS group in the Brussels Parliament, persistently tried to put pressure on to convince a majority of Dutch-speaking and French-speaking deputies to support the text. Without success.
This Tuesday morning, the MR signed the virtual death of the text, confirming behind the scenes that he would not vote for the proposed ordinance. Due to lack of support, Marc-Jean Ghyssels (PS), author of the proposed ordinance, requested the postponement of the text “during more normal periods.
Full decumulation should ultimately remain in place in Brussels: the PS, despite a final push for pressure, fails to obtain the support of the MR
The relationship is not much better between the PS and the Engagés. About ten days ago, still on this decumulative issue, the tone rose between Ahmed Laaouej and Christophe De Beukelaer, after the leader of the Engagés refused to support the proposal for a decumulative ordinance.
This escalation of tensions is disrupting the negotiations that the MR, the PS and Les Engagés are supposed to carry out jointly, with a view to forming a Brussels government together.
The French-speaking axis is being put to the test. And the sequence is not over since other agreements between the PS and the PTB could be announced soon, in one or two municipalities.
Very advanced negotiations between the PS and the PTB are in fact underway in Molenbeek.
Discussions between the Socialist Party and the Radical Left Party have also started in Schaerbeek.
And they could deepen in the coming days, unless there is a de-escalation between the MR and the PS.
We were far from it this Tuesday evening. Faced with such negotiations, the MR considered its options and its response, while the PS prepared to face repercussions, without knowing their exact nature.
The threat of a PS-PTB-Ecolo agreement in the Region?
“The sequence which is opening up could have major political significance. The liberals, depending on their reaction, risk opening up perspectives for the Region that we had never envisaged. There could be a change of direction, towards the PS-PTB-Ecolo government track“, slips a socialist source. “Of course, the problem of the majority, on the Flemish side, would always persist. But certain scenarios exist, notably on the Groen side, where Team Ahidar would support the Dutch-speaking college from the outside.”
This left-wing majority track, which would only hold two seats in the French-speaking College, remains embryonic.
“And I can’t see the PTB coming to the Region to manage austerity.” underlines an environmentalist.
This alliance seems little more, at this stage, than a threat aimed at avoiding too strong a response from the MR. Still, the conclusion of a Brussels government agreement seems, with each day that passes, to move further and further away…
Crisis in sight in Brussels? An alliance between the socialists and the PTB in Schaerbeek or Forest would threaten the MR-PS axis in the Brussels government
