Brussels Regional Government wins confidence vote

As 48 hours has to have elapsed before a vote of (no) confidence can be held, the vote was held this afternoon. All but one member of the Francophone and Flemish socialist and Christian democrat and Flemish liberal coalition that makes up the government of the Brussels-Capital Region voted for the motion.

The Francophone Christian democrat Ahmed El Khannouss abstained. The opposition parties (Francophone and Flemish Greens, Flemish nationalists and the far-left and far-right) voted against.

Speaking after the vote the Francophone Christian democrat group leader in the Brussels Regional Parliament Benoît Cerexhe said that by (with the exception of Mr El Khannouss) voting for the motion of confidence, his party wishes to send out aa signal that the government should work resolutely towards transparency and completing the tasks laid out for it in the coalition agreement.

In the wake of the Samusocial scandal, the leader of the Francophone Christian democrats Benoît Lutgen had said that he no longer wish to govern in coalition with the Francophone socialists.

This led to a change of coalition in the Walloon Regional Government with the liberals taking the place of the socialists. However, Mr Lutgen’s plan has failed in both the Brussels Regional and the Francophone Language Community Governments as the radical Francophile party Défi refused to play ball.