BRUSSELS JUST BLEW A FUSE! Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever tendered his resignation to King Philippe on Monday after coalition talks deadlocked on a deficit-cutting budget, AFP reported.
De Wever’s five-party centre-right coalition has been chasing about €10 billion ($11.6 billion) in savings by 2029. The latest talks broke down hours before he went to the palace. A royal statement said the king is withholding his decision, will consult coalition party leaders, and will see De Wever again on Friday. Belgium “cannot afford a prolonged political crisis,” the palace warned.
The deficit exceeds five percent of GDP. Plans lean on public-spending cuts, including healthcare, plus a VAT hike that Francophone liberal partner MR strongly opposes as inflationary. Flemish socialists Vooruit, CD&V and Les Engagés have pushed for more taxes on the “strongest financial shoulders,” which MR and De Wever’s N-VA reject.
Per VRT NWS, the king meets Les Engagés and CD&V on Tuesday, Vooruit and MR on Wednesday, N-VA on Thursday, then De Wever Friday at 10:30am. De Wever did not immediately comment; the Instagram account of his cat Maximus posted that “there are days like that.”
Featured image: AI-generated editorial illustration by Bugle Blast.
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