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Belgium Gets Government (It No Longer Wants)
Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Nine months after the last general election, Belgian politicians have finally agreed on the shape of the nation's new government. Flemish Christian Democrat leader Yves Leterme will step up as Prime Minister on Thursday: He was expected to become PM shortly after his party came ahead in last June's election, but was unable to reach a deal with representatives from Belgium's French-speaking end.
Unfortunately, voters seem to have cooled on Mr Leterme and his "government" has slumped in polls, even before it assumes the position.
Only ten percent of French speakers have confidence in Leterme, polls suggest. Up in the Dutch-speaking half of the country, his support is at a healthier 45 percent - but the PM's own party has threatened to boot him out of the job if he is unable to deliver improved results for the Dutch region before the end of June.
Leterme's win was controversial because his party had promised greater autonomy for prosperous Dutch-speaking Belgium; in the poorer Walloon French region, where unemployment is very high and many workers depend on state jobs (paid for by the Flemish) there were fears this meant fewer handouts a reduced commitment to social solidarity.
Resentment has grown among Dutch-speaking Belgians, who claim the French are not pulling their weight economically but benefit from Belgium's constitutional commitment to equal political status and large subsidies from the north.
At one stage, newspapers reported that the country could split - an opinion apparently shared by 40 percent of voters. Belgium's King Albert II took a rare step into politics, ordering two Dutch and three French parties into talks towards forming a government.
The resulting agreement doesn't seem to have benefitted Leterme's Christian Democrats. Leterme himself spoke of "having made mistakes" in the past, a reference to remarks he made last year which upset Francophones (hence his appalling ratings among Walloons). Both sides have agreed to put the fraught issue of constitutional reform and relations between the communities on the long finger for the time being - hardly reassuring for Leterme's own constituency, who voted for him on this very issue.
Moreover, French Socialist party chief Elio Di Rupo emerged from the talks brandishing a document which he claims boosts "the poorly paid, the retired and those on welfare benefits", as well as measures on climate change. Once again, the Dutch speakers voted for Leterme because they were fed up with what they had to fork out to featherbed the French in the first place - Di Rupo seems to be suggesting they'll have to hand over even more under the terms of the agreement.
It's also reported that the new government is unlikely to differ much from the current interim government. Guy Verhofstadt, the defeated PM who agreed to stay on as leader in December, will be taking a year out (possibly to prepare for a run at the European Presidency?) but apart from that, the cabinet will look much the same.
Leterme's party is threatening to pull the plug on the coalition if its concerns are not met: Belgium could find itself without a government once again.
