According to VRT journalist Stefan Victor Decraene, a government crisis cannot be ruled out. «For a long time the negotiations seemed to end in an agreement, because the parties are doomed to each other. Now the points of view seem to be much more distant,’ says Decraene.
Parliament and government are connected in Flanders. This prevents the government from falling. ‘If the CD&V leaves the coalition, no new parties can join. The N-VA and OpenVLD must therefore continue as a minority government. This is how the nitrogen law was born not even through parliament’, underlines the VRT journalist.
“It is likely that the agricultural sector will no longer receive permits in the next period”
Mass protest
The government crisis erupted after the Flemish peasants presented almost twenty thousand objections against the law. Just like the CDA, the CD&V traditionally has many supporters among farmers and has decided to withdraw its support. “The CD&V believes that this is a new political fact, because there is so much opposition”, says the Flemish journalist.
In Flanders a discussion on nitrogen is raging similar to that in the Netherlands. With farmer protest and political polarization as a result. “We will use all means to defend the interests of Flemish farmers,” says Boerenbond chairman Lode Ceyssens.
Belgium is the second largest emitter of nitrogen in Europe after the Netherlands per capita. N-VA and OpenVLD therefore believe that emissions should be reduced. Last week, thousands of Flemish farmers drove their tractors to Brussels to prevent this.
The protests drive Flemish Prime Minister Jan Jambon to despair. “Please, let us close ranks now, in Flanders’ interest,” Jambon pleaded in Parliament on Tuesday as the opposition called for his resignation.
Construction stop
Without a deal, construction could stall in the agricultural sector. “There is a lot of uncertainty about the exact consequences, because this has never happened before in Flanders. It is likely that the agricultural sector will no longer receive permits in the coming period,’ says Decraene.