Dutch-speaking and Francophone parties reached a major breakthrough yesterday in negotiations to form a new government a record 15 months after elections.
The eight parties announced they reached a deal on the breakup of an electoral district in and around bilingual Brussels, an issue that had vexed politicians for almost half a century and was at the heart of the record-length standoff between the linguistic groups as they sought to reform the Constitution.
The parties said in a statement that the negotiations on other issues such as economic and social policy would continue later yesterday.
“Our work is far from over, and we still need a lot of negotiations,” the statement said.
Still, after a 459-day government stalemate, already considered by far a world record, news of the breakthrough was lauded in the local media as historic.
“We have crossed a difficult bridge,” said Joelle Milquet, the head of the Francophone CdH party.
Over the past months, politicians increasingly started worrying about the pressure of financial markets doubtful about the long-term future of the country.
Caretaker Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme took as many social and economic decisions as his remit allowed, but negotiators realized drastic action had to be taken, especially after he announced earlier this week he would leave his post at the end of the year at the latest.
The insistence on more self-rule in northern Belgium for its 6 million Dutch-speaking Flemings was always central in negotiations. The parties representing the 5 million Francophones living in southern Wallonia and Brussels sought to maintain an institutional status quo.
However, the negotiators stressed that many hurdles still needed to be cleared until a new government take office.
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