The latest results are in, the major trends have been confirmed. The MR comes first on the French-speaking side, the N-VA on the Flemish side. But the nationalists and liberals are not the only winners of this election… To take stock of all the results, La Libre asked a few questions to Caroline Sägesser, political scientist at Crisp (Research and Information Center socio-political).
“We were surprised at different levels. Everyone had pointed to Vlaams Belang as the first party in Flanders and the country, that did not happen. We were thinking of a much closer match between the PS and the MR. We “We also did not see the extent of the Engagés’ success, nor the extent of Ecolo’s defeat. So there were a lot of surprises yesterday evening,” Caroline Sägesser immediately explained.
Regarding Ecolo’s defeat, the political scientist identified several causes: the about-face on nuclear power, the Good Move plan… “And then there was a sequence that went badly for Ecolo, that’s is the reform of the reform of the Landscape Decree.”
Faced with the results at the different levels of power, the question arises of knowing which coalitions will emerge in Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels. Especially since in the capital, the socialists and the liberals could be led to collaborate, after having led a campaign at loggerheads. “It’s going to be hard, I expect complicated negotiations in Brussels,” added the political scientist.
Finally, regarding the next hours and days, the King will receive in audience the various party presidents. “The King receives the two presidents of the main parties north and south of the linguistic border, namely Bart De Wever and Georges-Louis Bouchez. Between the two, he receives Tom Van Grieken. It is a first to see the King receive the president of Vlaams Belang in the order of importance of political forces. In 2019, it was at the end of the royal consultations that he received Vlaams Belang.”
