I thought it was interesting that @egbertlachaert specifically set 2030 as the planning horizon for the next government. Triple significance: 1. Two election cycles so they clearly want to build a relationship that lasts (and with 80 seats if standaard.be/cnt/dmf2020090…
they can pull back the nationalists and far right/left in 2024 they could get a very comfortable majority; 2. significant climate change action will need to have happened by then, particularly around cars; 3. 2030 is Belgium’s 200th anniversary, by using that date
specifically they distinguish from the nationalist parties who will almost certainly not want it acknowledged or celebrated – while they can put forward a vision of a modernised country (with a constitutional reform at the point of the 2024 election bedded in).
Not that this means it will all happen, but after the last two years of drift it’s a welcome level of ambition. Will be looking to see what @PaulMagnette and Conner Rousseau can achieve on the social democratic side of the ledger with the Greens.
Originally posted as a thread of 4 tweets on Twitter on 5 September 2020. View the original thread.