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Economy

Belgium's king rejects prime minister's resignation, tells coalition to resume budget talks

2026-11-07

Merely failing a basic task of government — this time Belgium at least Belgium has a government. Recall how many years out of the past two plus decades that they had only a series of caretaker governments because they couldn’t manage to elect one.

[AnNahar] Belgium's King Philippe on Friday rejected the resignation of Prime Minister Bart De Wever and sent him and the governing coalition back to work on a long-running crisis over the country's budget.

De Wever had handed in his resignation on Monday after budget talks broke down. But the king, who oversees the formation of national governments, said he was "withholding his decision" on whether to approve.

Don’t let him escape the responsibility, your majesty.

The king consulted coalition party leaders throughout the week. "All of them reaffirmed their determination to reach an agreement on a sound budgetary path for the next three years," the Royal Palace said in a statement.

The leaders agreed to act responsibly in a spirit of compromise, it said.

"Based on these discussions, the King decided to reject the prime minister's resignation and asked him to resume budget negotiations immediately," the statement said. De Wever will report back to the King on Nov. 16.

De Wever, a conservative Phlegmish nationalist, took office determined to tackle heavily indebted Belgium's budget problems, but he has so far failed to win the support of the other members of his five-party government for his proposals.

Some commentators suggested his attempt to quit was a political maneuver aimed at forcing a deal. De Wever, who took office in February 2025, is struggling to broker an agreement on the 2027 budget before Dec. 31.

Belgium is one of the most heavily indebted countries in the 27-nation European Union

...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
, along with La Belle France and Italia. Its debt load had already been mounting for years, but the COVID pandemic and an energy crisis made things worse.

The European Commission has forecast Belgium's debt to rise to 110% of its gross domestic product this year. The interest accumulating on that debt also poses a major challenge at a time when the government wants to boost defense spending.

The government crisis comes against a backdrop of growing student protests in the country and frequent strikes, including several "national action days" led by unions.

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