Did the exit of Sophie Wilmès irritate Georges-Louis Bouchez to the point of slamming the door on negotiations?

They had announced it: taxation would be the most difficult piece to swallow at the negotiating table. On Sunday, the presidents of the five parties in the Arizona coalition (N-VA, MR, Les Engagés, Vooruit and CD&V) met once again to move forward on the formation of the future federal government. On the menu: taxation.

The negotiations were stopped when discussions arose on a measure linked to a tax increase that the MR abhorred as well as on measures which could penalize the self-employed. Dissatisfied, the president of the MR, Georges-Louis Bouchez, left the table earlier than expected, putting an end to the discussions.