Minister and staff member unwell after overnight marathon talks on Flemish budget
The annual budget talks of the Flemish government turned into an ordeal: Deputy Prime Minister Hilde Crevits and a staff member of the party Vooruit became unwell during the marathon discussions about the 2027 budget.
Prime Minister Diependaele of the N-VA has been negotiating for days with his coalition partners, Crevits' Christian Democratic CD&V and the social democrats of Vooruit. The task is to find a balanced budget by the fourth Monday of September, which in Flanders marks the opening of the political year.
Because more than 1.6 billion euros in cuts had to be implemented, tough negotiations were expected in advance. "This is the biggest exercise we have ever had to do," said Flemish Finance Minister Ben Weyts (N-VA) earlier about the talks. "It is absolutely difficult," Crevits also admitted during a break, "but we are working diligently."
Night work
The hard work turned into night work due to the deadline of today at 2:00 p.m. for the government declaration. Minister Brouns of Agriculture (CD&V) posted a photo on Instagram this morning showing that the discussions were still ongoing at 6:37 a.m.
That overtime took its toll around noon. First, the chief of staff of Vooruit became unwell. Journalists waiting outside for an outcome suddenly saw an ambulance arrive. The staff member eventually had to be taken to the hospital.
Later, news came that Crevits also felt unwell due to all the efforts. Party colleague Brouns therefore took over her role. Nevertheless, Diependaele shortly afterwards informed parliament that the government declaration would be postponed until Wednesday, with the debate following on Friday. "I think the health of our staff and ourselves is more important," he said when asked about the missed deadline.
'Almost there'
At his announcement, Diependaele claimed that his coalition was almost there. "We were in the final review of the tables, actually a breath away from an agreement."
Opposition parties nevertheless reacted disdainfully to the situation. The incidents were "the self-inflicted toll of your nocturnal sham performances," said Chris Janssens of Vlaams Belang. According to him, the overnight sessions were just political theater to prove "that this Flemish government is working very hard."
The liberals of Anders think that Diependaele should have started the talks earlier. "Doing nothing for weeks and months and then wanting to solve everything in 48 hours in overnight marathon meetings until people literally collapse – this is the epitome of how not to do it." Another parliament member called "the knitting club of Moerbeke even more professional" than this.
No apple faint
"I do indeed think that this way of working – and we actually know that – is not the ideal way of working," Diependaele himself finally admitted. He added, however, disappointed, that he had expected "more humanity" in parliament "given the circumstances." The staff member who had to be hospitalized had, according to the prime minister, more than just a simple "apple faint."
He also strongly rejected the suggestion from some parliamentarians that this was an excuse to postpone the government declaration. "In any case, I look forward to the substantive debates, that will be a good one."