Hard times for governing parties: the 2019 federal elections in Belgium

On 26 May 2019, European, federal and regional elections in Belgium were held. The main electoral results showed the decline of ruling parties (N-VA, MR, Open VLD, CD&V) and the rise of radical parties on the right (Vlaams Belang) and left (PVDA-PTB). These results have opened a period of deep government instability with very long negotiations to form coalitions at the regional level, and even more so at the federal level. It eventually took the COVID-19 crisis outbreak for a new government to be formed. However, the new minority government obtained external support from six parties for a period of six months only. Over the last decade, forming a coalition has proven itself to be more and more difficult in Belgium. The rise of extreme parties and the decline of mainstream parties are making it even harder. If the trend holds, one might have to question the future capacity of Belgium to form sustainable coalitions.