Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The entire new Belgian government was sworn in before King Philippe at the Royal Palace in Brussels, and then took part in the traditional group photo. Bart De Wever was sworn in as Prime Minister in the three national languages ​​of Flemish (Dutch), French and German. All the deputy prime ministers were sworn in in French and Dutch. The other ministers chose their own language, with the exception of Eleonore Simonet of the Francophone Liberal Party (MR), who spoke both French and Dutch.
Prime Minister Bart De Wever has fourteen ministers in his government. It is evenly divided between Dutch and French speakers. His party, the Flemish Alliance of the N-VA, has three ministers, while the Flemish Socialist Vooruit and the Flemish Christian Democrats CD&V each have two portfolios. On the Walloon side, the Francophone Christian Social Party Les Engagés has three ministers, while the Francophone Liberal Party MR, led by Georges-Louis Bouchez, has four ministers. The latter was a candidate for the position of deputy prime minister, but until the last moments he backed down and chose a party colleague instead because he wanted to retain the party leadership. He said in statements on Monday morning that he felt that the Francophone liberal family, the party, needed him to be the party leader. The president of the Francophone Christian party Les Engagés, Maxime Prévost, who will become deputy prime minister in the De Wever government, is responsible for foreign affairs and development cooperation. "I hope that his colleague, the leader of the Liberal Party, Georges-Louis Bouchez, will attach as much importance to the stability of the federal government as he does to the stability of the party. The latter is the reason why he did not join the government. The media have pointed to criticism from some due to the decline in the number of women in the current government. Prime Minister Bart De Wever commented on this by saying that the choice of the people participating in the government is not my responsibility, but rather the choice of the parties. They are the ones who submit the names to me, and I cannot object to the presence of a man or a woman.
The newly appointed Minister of Justice, Annelies Verlinden, commented by emphasizing her regret that the basic composition of the new government consists exclusively of men. The former business lawyer says that she finds it "regrettable" that "there are no women in the basic cabinet," according to Verlinden. "It is a collective observation and perhaps says something about methods, cultures and relationships." As for herself, she indicated that she will do more than enough with her strengths. She concluded by saying that "defending the diversity agenda is more necessary than ever."
The Prime Minister received The new Belgian Prime Minister was immediately congratulated by Antonio Costa, President of the European Council, who wrote on social media: “Congratulations on assuming the office of the new Prime Minister of Belgium. I wish you success in leading the new government and look forward to strong cooperation on EU issues. I am pleased to welcome you today to your first meeting with all EU leaders at the Egmont Palace in Brussels.”