Belgium's King Albert consulted political leaders on Saturday after the government collapsed for the third time in a year following its botched attempt to bail out financial group Fortis.Prime Minister Yves Leterme tendered his government's resignation on Friday after a report by the Supreme Court found signs of political meddling to sway a court ruling on the future of the bank, a victim of the credit crunch.
The king, who under the constitution must decide whether to accept the resignation, held successive talks at the palace with the heads of the five ruling-coalition parties until 2 am on Saturday, a palace spokesman said.
Consultations were to continue later in the day. Belgian media said there was little chance of Leterme staying in power. The newspaper De Morgen said a reshuffled, emergency cabinet could be stitched together to govern until June. A parliamentary election could take place that month to coincide with planned regional and European elections, the paper said. "After the resignation of Yves Leterme, the king needs to find a successor quickly. Not one of the ruling parties is asking for new elections," De Standaard said on its front page.