This is the risk what government formations run when they start to drag on: find yourself under pressure. Pressure that comes from outside the negotiations, with the aim of obstructing or, at least, modifying certain aspects of the current discussions. This morning, it is the unions who will try to put pressure on the negotiators of the potential Arizona coalition. At least 10,000 people are expected in the streets of Brussels. This is the second meeting set up by the unions every 13th of the month. The first, in December, focused on tax justice. The next one, on February 13, will concern the theme of public services. Today’s is dedicated to the defense of pensions.
For the unions, it is not not easy to mobilize against measures that have not yet been taken. We don’t really know what Bart De Wever’s government, if it sees the light of day, will decide. We know the main points: a saving of around 3 billion euros. In terms of intentions, we know that early departures or early retirement, which could be delayed, as well as special regimes for railway workers, police officers or the military, are in particular in the crosshairs. But these are, at this stage, only intentions. By mobilizing in the streets, and provided that this mobilization is a success, the unions could well complicate government negotiations. They have little chance of changing the minds of Bart De Wever or Georges-Louis Bouchez, who are determined in their political choices and who repeated it again this weekend. They could, on the other hand, make Vooruit uncomfortable, the Flemish socialist party of Conner Rousseau and Frank Vandenbroucke, as well as the CD&V of Sammy Mahdi and Vincent Van Peteghem, two parties reputed to be close, one to the socialist union, the other to the Christian union. In passing, we note that today’s action is organized as a common front, which means that the CGSLB, the liberal union, also shares these concerns.
In the register of pressure, it is interesting to note that the Brussels negotiation also does not escape this exercise which consists of mobilizing those who could influence one or the other negotiator, in a very different context. Since negotiations in Brussels are currently at a standstill, it is not a question of trying to oppose or modify a project. We’re not there yet. These pressures aim rather tocall on political parties to begin negotiations. In recent days, it has been economic circles that have been responsible for putting the pressure on. We could thus hear employers’ organizations calling for discussions to begin. The FEB (Belgian Business Federation), the Union of Middle Classes, BECI in the Brussels region, and Voka in the Flemish region have expressed their views in this regard. Other actors are now bringing grist to the mill. Saturday, in the newspaper The Echothe company court revealed, for example, that the number of bankruptcies was clearly increasing in Brussels. Bankruptcies, judicial reorganization procedures, payment defaults: all the indicators are red. And they would be significantly more so in the Brussels region than in other regions of the country. Implied: the public authorities will have to intervene, and for that, you need a government.
The sword is double-edged. We cannot ask the Region to support the economy while asserting that it spends much more than it earns, and that it must above all make savings. But we can clearly see it: the business community is starting to worry. Just as non-profit organizations and stakeholders in the non-profit sector, in the fields of health, social, or culture, are also worried, who also depend on the subsidies that the Brussels Region will pay them, or not. We will soon be able to add to the list of those who put pressure organizations like STIB, which will have to decide what work to launch or not in the future, Vivaqua, which needs new money to renovate the sewers, Bruxelles Mobilité, which must renovate tunnels. And we’re not even talking about housing projects on the Josaphat wasteland, for example. All these files are falling behind schedule.
-Certainly, unlike the unions, business leaders as well as Brussels citizens and taxpayers as a whole are probably not going to take to the streets. It may be different with social, health or cultural workers. However, in both cases, it is the same signal: whether at the federal level or at the Region, politicians do not work for themselves, but for the population. And if they are unable to reach an agreement, or if the agreements are of poor quality, they all risk paying dearly in the next elections. This ultimate sanction is the worst pressure.
Fabrice Grosfilley
