Bouchez faces a decisive setback as Ecolo and Défi reject his bid to broker a Brussels government, signaling a 'game over' moment for the MR’s broad coalition plan.

MR designated Georges-Louis Bouchez to lead negotiations, first with David Leisterh and then taking the helm himself, to pursue a 2026 budget involving six parties: MR, PS, Engagés, Groen, Open VLD, and Vooruit.

The article, available to subscribers, outlines the persistent difficulty of forming a government in Brussels amid competing party interests and recent political strain.

A brief improvement in the crisis after a PS–Open VLD clash has faded, leaving negotiations deadlocked once more.

With Ecolo and Défi declining to join, Bouchez’s effort to build a broad Brussels coalition effectively ends.