An example. When it came to establishing the “Swedish” majority in 2014, the “Atoma notebook” from Charles Michel’s team specified that the reimbursement of Arco cooperators – the financial arm of the Christian workers’ movement – had to be start during the first half of 2015. After the bankruptcy of Dexia, of which Arco was one of the shareholders, this issue was very sensitive for the CD&V, one of the parties in the federal coalition.
The Atoma notebook by Jan Jambon (N-VA) never existed…
Change of method
What about Arizona? The government in preparation, bringing together the N-VA, Les Engagés, the MR, Vooruit and the CD&V, is no exception. According to our information, Bart De Wever also uses the Atoma notebook technique. However, the fact of noting certain compromises outside the official text did not arrive until quite late in the current federal palaver.
Why this change of method? “Because, initially, the N-VA believed that its notes should not be subject to amendments. Afterwards, she had to accept the requests for modifications from the other parties. And this meant that certain details were included in the Atoma notebook.“Contacted this Tuesday on this subject, faithful to the discretion they have imposed since the start of the negotiations, the Flemish nationalists made no comment.
Be careful, when we talk about “Atoma notebook”, this expression is purely symbolic in the age of word processing. Sensitive points that should not be disseminated are simply included in a computer file. As was also the case in Vivaldi, confides a leading representative: “Under De Croo, the Atoma notebook was a Word document managed by Ruben Leco (chief of staff of the Prime Minister). I never saw an Atoma notebook stricto sensu during the negotiations.“
Stupor in Arizona: Vooruit submits… 500 amendments to Bart De Wever’s super-note
The exegesis of the official agreement
In the “Atoma notebook” of Arizona, according to another source, we find in particular clarifications, the exegesis of the text under discussion. The current Atoma notebook sometimes only includes simple clarifications about a decision to avoid using a sentence in one sense rather than another during the implementation of the agreement.“This is about ensuring trust between the formations of the future majority, that everything is clear so that no one feels betrayed during the legislature. The Atoma notebook therefore also aims to consolidate the political stability of the federal team.
The current Atoma notebook sometimes only includes simple details about a decision to avoid using a sentence in one sense rather than another when implementing the agreement..”
Linguistic balances
Certain unofficial additions sometimes go beyond the stage of just understanding a line or a paragraph. Among other things, assurances were given to negotiators on the linguistic role of the directors of the Belgian Competition Authority (ABC). After the legislature, the issue had poisoned the air within the De Croo government. As a reminder, after several recruitment procedures, Axel Desmedt had been selected to head the competition watchdog. However, a problem arose regarding its linguistic role. Perfectly bilingual, he was considered Dutch-speaking because of his diploma obtained at VUB. However, the position should in principle go to a French-speaker… The MR strongly contested this appointment.
By locking in the linguistic balance of power at the management level, the “Arizonians” undoubtedly wish to avoid going through the same political hassle. In addition to this point, other guarantees on community and linguistic balances also appear in the Atoma notebook.
Defense, diplomacy…
Finally, Bart De Wever’s “secret” document would raise certain sensitive issues which cannot be released publicly for obvious reasons. For example, in matters of Defense or with regard to the line to follow in diplomatic relations with certain foreign powers.
