🇧🇪 Belgian PM offers resignation after budget talks collapse, king holds off on a decision
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever offered his resignation to King Philippe on Monday after budget talks failed overnight. The king has put his decision on hold and will begin consultations with the leaders of the coalition parties on Tuesday, according to the Royal Palace.
Philippe criticized the failure to agree on a credible budget and urged all sides to put the general interest and compromise first. De Wever is due back at the palace on Friday, November 6.
The five-party coalition is split over how to fill the hole in the state’s finances. De Wever’s Flemish nationalist N-VA and the French-speaking liberals of MR want cuts mainly to healthcare, while Flemish socialists Vooruit and centrists Les Engagés want high earners to pay more.
If Philippe accepts the resignation, the government becomes caretaker and new elections would have to be scheduled.
De Wever is also the leader who held up the EU plan for a massive loan to Ukraine using frozen Russian assets, most of which sit at Euroclear in Belgium.
