How is a Brussels government formed?
The formation process, from election to inauguration
The steps of the formation
- Elections — Brussels residents elect the 89 members of the regional Parliament (72 French-speaking + 17 Dutch-speaking)
- Consultation — The President of Parliament consults the parties and may designate an informateur to explore possible coalitions
- Formation — A formateur is designated to negotiate a government agreement between the parties of the future coalition
- Agreement — The parties sign a government agreement setting out the programme and the composition of the government
- Government — The government is constituted and takes the oath before Parliament
The double linguistic majority
The Brussels particularity is the requirement for majorities in both linguistic groups of Parliament. The government must include ministers from both groups. Certain decisions require a majority in each group. This mechanism protects the Dutch-speaking minority but considerably complicates coalition formation.
Results of 9 June 2024
The regional elections of 9 June 2024 produced a highly fragmented parliament. Seven French-speaking and six Dutch-speaking parties share the 89 seats. No simple coalition commands a simultaneous majority in both linguistic groups.
French linguistic group (72 seats)
Dutch linguistic group (17 seats)
Source: FPS Interior, official results of 9 June 2024. Figures may differ slightly depending on recounts. BGM verification: February 2026.
Coalition arithmetic
To form a government, a majority in each linguistic group is required: 37 seats out of 72 on the French-speaking side and 9 seats out of 17 on the Dutch-speaking side. On the French-speaking side, several combinations of 3-4 parties reach 37 seats. But on the Dutch-speaking side, with only 17 seats spread across 6 parties, finding 9 seats that are politically compatible with the French-speaking coalition is extremely difficult. It is this arithmetic constraint that explains the failure of the six rounds of formation.
Difference from the federal level
At the federal level, the King plays an active role: he designates informateurs and formateurs. At the Brussels regional level, it is the President of Parliament who leads the process. There is no royal role in the formation of regional governments — it is an exclusively parliamentary competence.
The current crisis
Since the elections of 9 June 2024, six rounds of formation have taken place without resulting in a government. The main blockage is the double linguistic majority: the combinations that work on the French-speaking side do not find a corresponding majority on the Dutch-speaking side.
Why it is harder in Brussels
Unlike the federal level, forming a Brussels government combines three unique difficulties: (1) the double linguistic majority requires a simultaneous agreement in two distinct electoral blocs; (2) there is no royal role to facilitate mediation — the President of Parliament alone leads the process; (3) party fragmentation is extreme: 13 parties for 89 seats, an average of 7 seats per party. At the federal level, the King can appoint informateurs and formateurs with a moral authority that does not exist at the regional level.