Nine months on, Belgium finally gets its new government
BRUSSELS (AFP) — Belgium's new government was finally sworn in Thursday more than nine months after elections, closing a troubling chapter in a political crisis that could yet resurface in a few months.
Flemish Christian Democrat Yves Leterme and his 15-member cabinet gave the oath of office to King Albert II in a ceremony at the royal palace, a move Belgians have been waiting for since June 10.
"Our country, Belgium, remains a country where it is good to live and which has plenty of things of which we can be proud," Leterme, 47, told parliament later, as he sought to win the confidence of both houses.
But, he said, the kingdom can "only hope to have a prosperous future if it is ready for change."
The confidence vote will officially be handed down on Saturday.
Belgium's political crisis had turned on how much federal power should be devolved to the regions, with parties in the more populous and prosperous Dutch-speaking region of Flanders demanding more control over regional affairs.
The five parties making up the new coalition -- three of them French-speaking formations and two from Flanders -- finally sealed overnight an agreement on how to share the portfolios.
Seven women will be part of the government, which largely resembles the interim cabinet led by Guy Verhofstadt, who had pledged to step down, come what may, by March 20.
The new cabinet list, endorsed by the king, retains Karel De Gucht and Patrick De Wael as foreign and interior ministers respectively.
Pieter De Crem and Jo Vandeurzen will keep the defence and justice portfolios, while Didier Reynders will remain finance minister and Laurette Onkelinx health minister.
Francophone centrist leader Joelle Milquet -- known in Flanders as "Madame No" for her hardline in governmental negotiations -- is the new face, taking on the role of employment and equal opportunities minister.
A key task now will be to agree by July on how to devolve powers to the regions, although a series of other issues -- some left unresolved during the months-long search for a compromise -- will also have to be addressed.
Observers had said that the current team has lacked cohesion and questions have been raised about whether the new cabinet, which is essentially the same, will last a year.
According to a survey made public Wednesday for RTL-TVI/VTM television, 63 percent of Belgians do "not have confidence" in the new government. More than half of those questioned believe it will collapse by mid-2008.
Dutch-speakers make up about 60 percent of Belgium's 10.5 million population. They live predominantly in Flanders, once the poorer half of Belgium but now one of the most dynamic corners of western Europe.
The Francophones -- living mainly in Wallonia and the officially bilingual Brussels capital region and making up almost 40 percent of residents -- fear that handing down too much power could lead to the breakup of the country.
Belgium also has a small German-speaking minority.
Language differences -- and each community's insistence that they be able to communicate in their own tongue -- are a regular source of tension in Belgium.
Leterme -- who once confused Belgium's anthem with that of France and failed in two previous attempts to form a government -- fuelled inter-communal anger in 2006 by suggesting that French speakers were not capable of learning Dutch.
After almost nine and a half months, government formation talks in Belgium have resulted in a new government. New Prime Minister Yves Leterme was sworn in by King Albert II today, together with 15 new Ministers and 7 Secretaries of State. After the election on June 10 last year, a confidence vote in the parliament in Brussels on Saturday is expected to confirm the coalition's promise of a government in time before Easter.

In his inaugural speech, Flemish Christian Democrat Leterme replied to criticism from the media and opposition that his government's manifest was vague and that there was no mutual trust between the coalition partners: "We want to increase the faith in the government, not with empty promises, but with specific measures, by investing in health care, the environment, safety and governmental services."

The coalition partners have set out several deadlines for major decisions on which agreement still could not be reached during the formation. By July 15, a council of 'wise men' has to fill the current empty space of the promised constitutional reforms. Yesterday, a survey published in the media showed that the majority of Belgians lacked confidence in the new government, and believed it will collapse within months. On a party convention yesterday, Leterme pledged he would keep his promise to his constituency, vowing to break up the government if more powers are not devolved to the regions.

The record-breaking political stalemate had promised to be difficult from the start, after the Christian Democrats won the elections in Flanders in coalition with the nationalist party N-VA. The cartel promised more regional autonomy for the northern Dutch-speaking two-thirds majority of Belgium. Negotiations promised to be tough in a country where separate parties for the main ideologies exist in each half of the country.

Political map of Belgium showing Dutch-speaking Flanders (yellow), French-speaking Wallonia (red), German-speaking area (blue striped) and bilingual Brussels Capital Region (orange).
Leader of the separatist N-VA Bart De Wever expressed his disdain about the new government: "There are more Francophone than Dutch-speaking members in this administration, which doesn't respect the proportions: Flanders has two thirds of the population and three quarters of the wealth."

During the political crisis the previous PM Guy Verhofstadt, who recognised his defeat in the elections and had seemingly withdrawn from the political stage, returned to head a caretaker government at the request of the Belgian King. In his inaugural speech today, the new PM expressed his gratefulness to Verhofstadt for his services. After almost 9 years as the Belgian PM, Verhofstadt presented his successor with the keys of his new residence at ''Rue de la Loi 16''/''Wetstraat 16'' ("16 Law St."), in Brussels.

'Madame No' Joëlle Milquet, leader of the Walloon Christian Democrats, gave her Flemish colleague Leterme a hard time during the coalition talks because she consistently resisted the Flemish demands for regional autonomy. In the new government she becomes the federal Minister of Work, a department that the Flemish nationalists want to devolve to the regional level.

As the largest political fraction, the liberals seem to have weighed heavily on the coalition. They deliver the vice-Premier and the Ministers for Constitutional Reforms, Finances, Economy, Internal and Foreign Affairs, Asylum and Migration, Agriculture, Sciences and Humanitarian Aid. The French-speaking socialists joined the coalition talks late in the process, while the Flemish socialists remain in the opposition, giving an unprecedented asymmetry to the federal government.