The key facts
- Prime Minister Bart De Wever resigned over the failure of next year's budget talks
- King Philippe deferred a decision on the resignation and began consultations with party leaders
- CD&V leader Sammy Mahdi warned of the risk of 'Greek conditions' if the deadlock drags on
The Prime Minister's resignation and the King's deferral of a decision
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever submitted his resignation after his five-party coalition failed to agree on next year's budget. King Philippe, who received the Prime Minister for more than an hour and a half on Monday, deferred a decision on the resignation and announced that he would hold consultations with the leaders of the coalition parties in an attempt to resolve the political deadlock. This was reported by Anadolu citing developments in Brussels.
Tuesday's consultations: the coalition partners' positions
On Tuesday, Les Engages chairman Ivan Verougstraete was the first to go to the King, saying after a meeting of about an hour that he had presented 'constructive ideas' that could help overcome the deadlock. Before the audience, he called for calm: 'The match is not over yet. We will fight to the end.' Next to be received was CD&V chairman Sammy Mahdi, who discussed the deadlocked budget negotiations with the monarch for about an hour.
Warnings about the consequences of a prolonged crisis
Mahdi expressed outrage at the behaviour of some coalition partners, in particular MR and Vooruit, accusing them of insufficient urgency in addressing the country's financial problems. He warned that if the deadlock drags on, Belgium could face 'Greek conditions': financial markets could react harshly to budgetary uncertainty, putting the entire social security system at risk. The King's consultations are aimed at assessing the partners' positions and determining whether an agreement is possible before a decision is made on De Wever's resignation; further meetings with party leaders are expected as the search for a way out of the budget deadlock continues.
