Belgian prime minister has offered to resign amid a political dispute, the press office of the Belgian parliament reported on Thursday. File photo of Yves Leterme  |200pxThe Belgian king, , has not yet accepted the prime minister's offer. He and Leterme met on Thursday's afternoon, the office said. The king said that the resulting political turbulence from the resignation "seriously threatens" the country's standing in the European Union. "[He] had no other choice than to inform us that he would go to the king immediately to tender the government's resignation," said Belgium's health minister, Laurette Onkelinx . This latest resignation is a fallout of Belgium's long-term power struggle between the country's French-speaking Walloons and Flemish-speaking majority. The latest disagreement centers on special rights for Walloons living near Brussels; specifically, the location of electoral boundaries around the capital. A key coalition member, the Flemish liberal Open VLD Party, pulled out of the government, frustrated over the failure to resolve the dispute. Party chairman Alexander De Croo said that"[w]e have not agreed on a negotiated solution and therefore Open VLD no longer has confidence in the government." Without the VLD, the other four government parties have 76 of 150 lower house seats in the parliament, although governing with such a small majority would be hard,  says.
Belgian prime minister has offered to resign amid a political dispute, the press office of the Belgian parliament reported on Thursday. File photo of Yves Leterme . |200pxThe Belgian king, , has not yet accepted the prime minister's offer. He and Leterme met on Thursday's afternoon, the office said. The king said that the resulting political turbulence from the resignation "seriously threatens" the country's standing in the European Union. "[He] had no other choice than to inform us that he would go to the king immediately to tender the government's resignation," said Belgium's health minister, . This latest resignation is a fallout of Belgium's long-term power struggle between the country's French-speaking and Flemish-speaking majority. The latest disagreement centers on special rights for Walloons living near Brussels; specifically, the location of electoral boundaries around the capital. A key coalition member, the Flemish liberal Open VLD Party, pulled out of the government, frustrated over the failure to resolve the dispute. Party chairman said that"[w]e have not agreed on a negotiated solution and therefore Open VLD no longer has confidence in the government." Without the VLD, the other four government parties have 76 of 150 lower house seats in the parliament, although governing with such a small majority would be hard, Al Jazeera says.
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Laurette Onkelinx
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Walloons
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Alexander De Croo
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Al Jazeera