BELGIUM: Belgian crisis deepens after coalition talks fail

Belgium plunged deeper into political uncertainty when would-be prime minister Yves Leterme abandoned efforts to form a four-party centre-right government after the collapse of marathon talks. Would-be Prime Minister Yves Leterme went on Saturday (December 1) to King Albert to be discharged from his task of forming a government. It was the second time Leterme asked to be discharged for his mission as 'formateur' but this time, the royal palace didn't ask him to pursue his mission. The King now has to designate another 'formateur' to try and form the next government. Leterme's Flemish Christian Democrats, the Flemish Liberals and their French-speaking counterparts have held on-off negotiations for a record 174 days since the general election, but failed to agree on the central issue of devolving more power to the regions. Yves Leterme had set a midday deadline for all parties to accept his final plan. When one declined to do so, he had to ask the King to release him from his mission. ''I have asked the King to release me from my mission as 'formateur'. Over the past weeks and months, I have made every possible efforts to bring this task to a successful conclusion. Unfortunately, this has not been possible. Our country needs a stable government and reforms enabling us to tackle our citizens' problems, as well as a better way for our institutions to work. With others, I have been working relentlessly,'' Leterme told reporters on his way back from the palace. Leterme, the former premier of Dutch-speaking Flanders, had asked all four parties to sign up to his proposal for the state reform that the Flemish demand and French-speakers resist. ''The country and its residents need a strong and vigourous government. But I remain convinced that it would only be possible through necessary reforms. I came to the conclusion today that there has not been possible to find clear agreements between all the parties around the negotiation table on the content of those reforms,'' Leterme said. Leterme asked three questions to the political parties involved in the negotiations to form a new government. Were the other parties open to debate any possible issue? Were they willing to allow the regions to offer financial incentives to business? Could the measures be passed with no more than the required two-thirds majority in parliament? His party (CDNV/N-VA) and the Flemish and French-speaking Liberals (the MR headed by Didier Reyners) replied "yes", but the francophone counterpart of the Christian Democrats (CDH headed by Joelle Milquet) declined to do so. Dutch-speaking Flanders, the wealthier and more populous region, wants to gain control of labour market policy and be able to vary taxes, currently a federal government prerogative. French-speaking Wallonia, where the unemployment rate is around double that of Flanders, feels it will lose out if its northern neighbour is able to entice companies with lower corporate tax. Leterme's party, the CDNV, and its coalition partner, the N-VA (New Alliance for Flanders) won the largest number of votes in the June 10 general elections. Leterme wants more autonomy for the regions in term of employment policy or tax reform and defended the idea of a reform of the state. Some progress in the long-running coalition talks led by Leterme had been made with Flemish and French-speaking Christian Democrats and Liberals settling policy on justice, immigration, the environment and foreign relations but remained split on the budget and, above all, the reform of the state. But Flemish demands for more autonomy, although stopping short of separation, have met with a firm "non" from French-speakers. N-VA leader, Bart de Wever, said Belgium's Flanders should become independent in the long term and insisted that the institutional reform should be included in the government programme and was de facto blocking any further negotiation. Belgium's political future is now unclear with no obvious alternative coalition. This will fuel speculation of a possible break-up of the linguistically-divided federal state, which is home to the European Union's main institutions and NATO. Talk of the 177-year-old country splitting into Dutch- and French-speaking parts has disturbed many citizens, especially in the French-speaking part of Belgium. On November 18, more than thirty thousands people protested in the streets of Brussels in a show of unity amidst a deepening political crisis which threatens to split up the country. During the march, a petition supporting unity and signed by nearly 140,000 persons was handed over. In Brussels and Wallonia, Belgian citizens spontaneously hanged Belgian flags to their balconies to show their support for the country's unity. The last time Belgium was in a similar crisis was in 1988 when it took 148 days to form a government. For the time being, outgoing Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt is still working as Prime Minister of a 'caretaker' government.

ITN Source | December 2, 2007

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