While, the key issue in the electoral campaign focused on the institutional reform of the Kingdom of Belgium, Open Vld's party leader Alexander de Croo succeeded in putting proposals for a swift economic recovery and a sustainable state budget on the agenda too. Only one day after the Dutch elections, the VVD leader Mark Rutte, came to the Open Vld electoral Congress in support of their liberal economic recovery programme, the only Flemish party to put one forward.

The results confirm that Belgium, de facto, has evolved into one state that contains two democracies, the Dutch speaking north and the French speaking south. While the centre-right separatist N-VA, the nationalist Flemish Alliance, won with a landslide in the north (28% of the Flemish votes and winning 27 seats in the House of Representatives), the socialist PS was the big winner in the south (37.6% of the French speaking votes and 26 seats).

The two ELDR member parties had a difficult election night. Both participated in the collapsed government, but it remains to be seen if they will enter the next government. The French speaking Mouvement Reformateur (MR) obtained 24.3% of the votes, obtaining 18 seats, a loss of 5. Didier Reynders, the MR party leader recognised that: "the real winner in French speaking Belgium is the Parti Socialiste." He continued: "we will not take the initiative this time." The Open Vld obtained 14% and 13 seats, a loss of 5. Alexander de Croo, the newly elected party leader, said it's: "too early to tell whether we will choose the opposition," something the Open Vld youth organisation demands.

ELDR President Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck commented: "I congratulate the winners of these elections and I hope that they will be able to cooperate to find swiftly a rational and sustainable solution."

It is expected that the formation of a new government will take quite some time. However, it is not expected that this will affect the upcoming Belgian EU Presidency. The liberal European affairs state secretary Olivier Chastel (MR) has well prepared the EU Presidency which will start on 1 July 2010.