It is hard to imagine the Belgian authorities taking lightly this umpteenth call to order on the fragility of our public finances. Need we remind you that in November 2011, after more than 500 days without a government, the parties in discussion found a solution for the 2012 budget as if by magic, and immediately agreed on the formation of the Swede. It must be said that in the midst of the sovereign debt crisis, interest rates had risen to alarming levels, raising fears of great difficulty in borrowing on the markets.
On the interest rate front, the situation today is not yet worrying. But she is already serious. As the budgetary conclave approaches, Belgium is being reminded that its budgetary trajectory must be rectified immediately.
Pierre-Yves Dermagne: “The tax reform project needs to be reviewed”
The political parties, at the same time, are reminded of the need to form a government in 2024 without delay. And, in the process, to seal a real government agreement. No one will be surprised by recalling that Vivaldi’s government program is so vague that it authorizes everything and its opposite. The door is open to short-term agreements.
Moreover, since the start of the legislature, there have been very few “Vivaldian” agreements that can be marked with the seal of “reform” with a capital “R”. It has always been the lowest common denominator. And with that, even if the Vivaldi has not been idle, we are still waiting for a real reform of the labor market, pensions, and taxation. In short, the Fitch agency’s announcement will perhaps save Belgium, in one or two years, from looking like a rabbit caught in the headlights of a car. This announcement from Fitch, in fact, is good news…