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November 21, 2008 6:48:28 AM CST

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Belgian Gov't Collapses After Just 4 Months

Posted Jul 15, 08 8:13 AM CDT in World 

(Newser) – Belgium's fragile five-party coalition government collapsed last night after only four months in power. Yves Leterme, the prime minister, submitted his resignation to the king after failing to resolve several longstanding disputes between the French- and Dutch-speaking regions of Belgium. The fall of the Leterme government plunges the country into what Bloomberg calls the worst political crisis in its 177-year history.

Leterme won Belgium's June 2007 election, but he needed nine months to cobble together a government from parties on both sides of the country's linguistic divide. That delay led to fears that the country could break in two. While Belgium's leaders will now try once again to form a new coalition, the resignation will spark new talk about an independent Flanders.

Source Bloomberg

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After a 9-month struggle to form a government and a 4-month tenure, Yves Leterme has resigned as prime minister of Belgium.   (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme has offered his resignation after his government failed to agree on more self-rule for Belgium's Dutch and French-speaking camps.   (AP Photo)
Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme has offered his resignation after his government failed to agree on more self-rule for Belgium's Dutch and French-speaking camps.   (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, File)
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Belgium • coalition government • Flanders • Yves Leterme • King Albert


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