The IMF exercise is therefore very theoretical here, but it has the advantage of acting as a compass. It gives a course, a general direction, but does not protect against storms, thunderstorms and unforeseen events.
In this case, this general management, we already knew it. This outlook from the International Monetary Fund is not a surprise, particularly regarding the growing Belgian public debt. This is entirely in line with a whole series of other outlooks and forecasts that are established by other institutions in our country such as the Planning Bureau and the National Bank as well as by the outlook of the European Union.
All the more reason, therefore, not to minimize these data: the public deficit is significant in Belgium and, yes, we are among the countries whose debt is increasing the most. This is all the more worrying as interest rates are rising for the moment and getting into debt is more and more expensive.
Now, how to fix it? Reduce public spending with a little austerity? Affecting taxation? These are debates. How do we manage the cost of aging which weighs very heavily in these poor prospects, in this uncertainty which weighs on pensions here? These are political decisions, these are societal choices.
The problem is that these are not the kind of heavy decisions that are taken one year before the elections. But time is running out. If we don’t change anything, that’s where we risk becoming bad students.