Political parties in Belgium struck a deal on Friday to form a broad coalition government.
The announcement concluded months of talks that followed federal elections in June last year.
The country’s new prime minister is set to be the right-wing New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) leader Bart De Wever, who secured victory in the June polls.
De Wever heads 5-party alliance
De Wever will lead a five-party coalition which includes the Christian Democrats, the liberal Reformist Movement and the Flemish Social Democrats.
Together, they hold an 81-seat majority in Belgium’s 150-seat parliament.
The far-right Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) party was excluded from the government talks, despite the anti-immigration party having made the largest gains in the June 2024 election.
Political parties consistently exclude Vlaams Belang due to its anti-immigrant and anti-EU stance as well as its aim to split up the country.
Belgium’s Royal Palace released a statement saying that De Wever had reported the agreement of the future coalition to the king.
“His mandate has been extended until the appointment of the new government. The date of the swearing-in will be announced later,” the palace said in a post on social media.
This will be the first time Belgium will have a nationalist in the position of prime minister. The mayor of Antwerp since 2013, De Wever had pushed for cuts in social benefits, reforms to the pension system and immigration curbs.
“The die is cast,” De Wever said on social media, adding a picture of him meeting the king at the palace.
kb/zc (Reuters, dpa, AFP)
