The last two weeks of the campaign suggested a historic defeat for the socialists. And when the first results began to fall in on Sunday evening, things began to be confirmed. Of course, the polling stations in the big socialist strongholds had not yet been counted, so a certain amount of caution was still required. In Brussels, on the other hand, where the counting progressed more quickly than in Wallonia, the very downward position of the Socialists announced by the various polls did not seem to be as radical. Nevertheless, the party’s first place has become an old memory since the MR snatched it from him. Nevertheless, Paul Magnette, when he spoke to the activists gathered at the party headquarters, specified that “The PS maintains itself”. Certainly, the loss of first place in Brussels constitutes an electoral defeat even if it is tempered by a number of seats which could be equivalent to that of the late legislature…
In the capital everything will obviously be decided in the coming hours when the exact number of seats will be known. But it is not excluded, as we close this edition, that the socialists remain essential to negotiate a majority with… the MR who will recover the post of Minister-President lost twenty years ago.
At the federal level, the party is losing weight since there was talk of a net loss of six seats. And if the figures and the statements heard here and there during election night are confirmed, a majority should be put in place without the French-speaking socialists.
“This is an extremely worrying trend”: the PS draws a bitter observation following the elections
In opposition in Wallonia?
In Wallonia, it’s also a cold shower even if Paul Magnette, rightly, was careful not to comment on very incomplete figures. However, here too the party is experiencing a significant decline. Paul Magnette also admitted that his party knew “a tendency towards erosion that must be recognized”. He then added that these were “things that happen”. A good sport, the president of the PS asked the activists who were preparing to boo the right, which was clearly the winner of the elections, not to do so. “We must always be fair and remain democratic. We will congratulate the winners”. The PS will meet with its office this Monday afternoon to calmly analyze the figures. At the end of this edition, in the Walloon Parliament, the party would only have 19 seats compared to 23 today. The PS seemed to resist better in Liège than in the Charleroi region.
If a majority composed of the MR and the Engagés were to be established in the south of the country, the PS could therefore well spend 5 years in opposition alongside the PTB and Ecolo. A situation where the PS will have the advantage over its left-wing rival since it knows Walloon institutions like the back of its hand. However, this could also start a bigger fall for the party if it fails to revive itself from the opposition. But let’s not go too fast.
