After months of uncertainty, the capital’s politics is being reshaped at two levels: the City of Brussels and the Brussels-Capital Region
A new coalition takes office in the Brussels-Capital Region, with Boris Dilliès sworn in as Minister-President and a programme focused on budgets, mobility and investment
Brussels has not changed its city mayor, but it has changed its regional leadership. After an extended political stalemate following the June 2024 regional vote, seven parties have agreed a coalition for the Brussels-Capital Region. On 14 February 2026, MR politician and Uccle mayor Boris Dilliès was sworn in as Minister-President, replacing long-serving PS leader Rudi Vervoort. The new coalition says it aims to return the regional budget to balance by 2029 while revisiting contentious mobility measures and pursuing major infrastructure priorities.
For many residents and EU workers, the phrase “Brussels government” can sound like a single institution. In reality, Brussels is governed on several levels: 19 municipalities (each with its own mayor and council) and, above them, the Brussels-Capital Region with a parliament and executive responsible for region-wide policy on issues such as transport, parts of economic policy, and major public investment. The political breakthrough this month happened at the regional level.
Who is in the new regional coalition?
According to Belgian reporting, the agreement brings together seven parties across both language groups: MR, PS and Les Engagés on the Francophone side, and Groen, Vooruit, Open Vld (listed as “Anders” in some Brussels coverage), and CD&V on the Dutch-speaking side. The composition matters because Brussels’ institutions require cross-community support, making coalition-building uniquely complex.
The deal ended what several outlets described as a governance deadlock that was increasingly colliding with the region’s financial constraints. See, for example, Euractiv’s account of the agreement and detailed coalition reporting by The Brussels Times.
Boris Dilliès sworn in as Minister-President
On Saturday 14 February 2026, the Brussels Parliament elected the new head of government and ministers, and Boris Dilliès was sworn in as Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region. Dilliès is a leading figure in the liberal MR and has served as mayor of Uccle since 2017. He replaces Rudi Vervoort, who had led the regional executive since 2013.
The early days of the new leadership have already drawn attention to Brussels’ bilingual political reality. Belgian media reported scrutiny over Dilliès’ Dutch-language skills and his pledge to improve, highlighting how language competence can become a political test in a region governed through parallel French- and Dutch-speaking institutions. (Belga)
What is in the agreement: budgets first, then mobility and investment
Public finances appear to be the central organising theme of the new regional programme. Multiple reports say the coalition’s flagship commitment is to balance the regional budget by 2029, a target described as ambitious given Brussels’ structural pressures and the accumulated impact of the political standoff. (Euractiv)
Belga’s reporting on the coalition agreement also points to a planned mix of expenditure restraint and revenue optimisation, including a stated “80/20” approach (predominantly spending measures, complemented by revenue measures), alongside mobility and public-investment elements. (Belga)
On mobility, the agreement is expected to revisit the politically divisive Good Move approach to traffic circulation and neighbourhood planning, which has been praised by some as a liveability strategy and criticised by others as disruptive and insufficiently consultative. Infrastructure priorities—such as debates around major transport projects—are also part of the package, with Brussels media outlining how mobility, budget policy and investment were negotiated as a linked set of trade-offs.
Why the regional shift matters day-to-day
For Brussels residents, the end of the deadlock is not just a symbolic reset. A fully functioning regional executive is pivotal for decisions that affect daily life and long-term cohesion: the funding of public services, region-wide transport policy, investment planning, and coordination with municipalities on issues such as security and urban development. In a city that hosts the EU institutions, the stakes are also reputational: a capital expected to project stability while managing the pressures of a dense, diverse and multilingual metropolis.
The political mood in Brussels has also been shaped by wider social tensions around public spending and reforms, often expressed through street mobilisation in the capital. The pressure on any incoming regional government is therefore twofold: restoring administrative capacity while rebuilding public confidence that institutions can deliver. As The European Times reported during a previous wave of unrest in the capital, protests can quickly become a test of governance rather than a single-issue dispute (see: Massive Strike Shakes Brussels as Police Clash with Protesters).
A new chapter, with fragile arithmetic
Brussels’ new coalition represents a political turn: a liberal-led Minister-President at the head of a broad, cross-community alliance tasked with stabilising the region’s finances and navigating contentious policy files. Whether the agreement translates into durable governance will depend on how the coalition manages budget choices, mobility compromises and the region’s ever-present institutional complexity. For now, what is clear is that Brussels’ “new government” is a regional development—one likely to shape the city’s trajectory well beyond the walls of the Brussels Parliament.
