In an interview with Le Soir, Deputy Prime Minister David Clarinval looks back on the budget negotiations of recent weeks. His message is unambiguous: without the MR, Belgians would have paid much more. For weeks, he was the only one blocking proposals that included up to €3 billion in VAT increases, with some even pushing for a generalised 22% VAT rate.
“If I hadn't blocked it, everyone would have had to pay up,” he sums up. For him, these proposals were “completely unbalanced”, combining consumption taxes, extra levies on businesses and additional burdens on the strongest shoulders.
Faced with these excesses, the MR had a clear priority: protect families' shopping baskets, avoid an index jump that would have weakened purchasing power, preserve business competitiveness and maintain a coherent liberal economic approach. The MR secured full indexation up to €4,000 gross - above the median wage - guaranteeing protection for the middle class.
David Clarinval also points out that, over the past nine months, the government has already carried out three major waves of reform - the coalition agreement, the summer agreement and the budget agreement - with one constant: 78% structural reforms and savings, versus only 22% taxes. “Without us, these proportions would have been radically different,” he stresses.
He acknowledges that some choices were difficult. Indeed, certain sectors will face VAT increases, including leisure and pesticides. But every concession comes with support measures for activity and employment: generalised flexi-jobs, lower social contributions, tax-free overtime, the return of seasonal workers, protection of professional diesel and a stable VAT rate on fertilisers. The goal: never losing sight of the need to support employment and competitiveness.
On the labour market, the MR holds a strong ambition. With the fourth wave of reintegrating long-term sick workers, the aim is to halt the rise in the number of beneficiaries and reverse the trend. For Clarinval, getting those who can work back into employment is not only a budgetary necessity but also a matter of social justice and the sustainability of our model.
Ultimately, this budget would have been radically different without the MR at the table. Clarinval stresses that his role was to prevent excesses, defend workers and businesses, and preserve a responsible budgetary path.