Michel Government

Michel Government

94th Cabinet of Belgium (since 1830)
Date formed	11 October 2014
People and organisations
Head of government	Charles Michel
Head of state	Philippe of Belgium
Member party	N-VA MR CD&V Open Vld
Status in legislature	Coalition
History
Election(s)	2014
Incoming formation	2014 Belgian government formation
Previous	Di Rupo

The government's nickname, the "Swedish coalition", refers to the flag of Sweden (pictured)

The Michel Government is the incumbent Federal Government of Belgium formed following the 2014 Belgian government formation and sworn in on 11 October 2014.

Coalition

The government consists of a centre-right coalition of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), Christian Democratic and Flemish (CD&V), the Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats (Open Vld) and the Reformist Movement (MR). It is nicknamed "Swedish coalition" due to the colours yellow (N-VA), blue (liberal, i.e. MR and Open Vld) and the cross (CD&V). Initially it was also nicknamed "kamikaze coalition", due to the MR being the only French-speaking party in this coalition. The French-speaking Socialist Party is not part of the government for the first time in 25 years.

Another unique characteristic of the coalition is the presence of the Flemish nationalist N-VA in the federal government for the first time. No French-speaking party wanted to cooperate with N-VA, but during negotiations MR agreed to on the condition that the government's focus would be on socio-economic issues and that no "communautary" issues (e.g. state reform) would be part of the programme.

Measures and protests

Despite three parties (all but N-VA) having been part of the preceding Di Rupo Government as well, the programme of this coalition differs substantially from the previous one. The emphasis is on socio-economic reforms, especially through austerity measures. Important goals for the parties include helping businesses be more competitive, and increasing job growth.

The measures were met by protests primarily of the labour unions, arguing that the measures favour employers and disproportionately affect employees and regular families. The unions, ACV/CSC, ABVV/FGTB and ACLVB/CGSLB, who have an important and institutionalised role in Belgium's political process, did not accept the government's offer for dialogue, saying the government is not willing to reconsider any measure anyway. Instead, the unions organised several regional and national strikes in November and December 2014, culminating in a one-day general strike on 15 December.

An often recurring subject is whether or not a capital gains tax should be introduced, and tax reform in general.

Composition

The Constitution requires an equal number of Dutch- and French-speaking ministers (regardless of the Prime Minister). Since MR is the only French-speaking party, it has more minister than it would otherwise get with its electoral weight; this is compensated by having only Dutch-speaking Secretaries of State.

Minister	Name	Party
Prime Minister	Charles Michel		MR
Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of the Interior, Safety and Director of buildings	Jan Jambon		N-VA
Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Foreign Affairs	Didier Reynders		MR
Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Employment, Economy, Consumer Affairs	Kris Peeters		CD&V
Deputy Prime Minister – Development Cooperation, Digital Agenda, Telecom and Postal Services	Alexander De Croo		Open Vld
Minister of the Middle Class, SMEs, Self-employed and Agriculture	Willy Borsus		MR
Minister of Budget	Sophie Wilmès		MR
Minister of Energy	Marie-Christine Marghem		MR
Minister of Mobility	Jacqueline Galant		MR
Minister of Pensions	Daniel Bacquelaine		MR
Minister of Defence	Steven Vandeput		N-VA
Minister of Finance and fighting Fiscal Fraud	Johan Van Overtveldt		N-VA
Minister of Justice	Koen Geens		CD&V
Minister of Social Affairs and Health	Maggie De Block		Open Vld
Secretary of State	Name	Party
Secretary of State for Asylum, Migration and Administrative Simplification	Theo Francken		N-VA
Secretary of State for Equal Rights, Disabled Persons, Scientific Policy, Urban Policy and fighting Poverty	Elke Sleurs		N-VA
Secretary of State for Foreign Trade	Pieter De Crem		CD&V
Secretary of State for Social fraud, Privacy and the North Sea	Bart Tommelein		Open Vld

Changes in composition

• On May 21, 2015 the portfolios Urban Policy and fighting Fiscal Fraud were re-allocated between three N-VA members. Urban Policy moved from Jan Jambon to Elke Sleurs, while Sleurs handed over Fiscal Fraud to Johan Van Overtveldt.
• On September 21, 2015 it was announced that minister of the budget Hervé Jamar (MR) would resign to become governor of Liège. He will be succeeded by Sophie Wilmès (MR).