Belgium plunged into political crisis as PM quits

Belgium plunged into political crisis yesterday as Prime Minister Yves Leterme threw in the towel after a key Flemish party quit his coalition government two months before the country assumes the EU chair.

The situation was in flux, however, as the King delayed a decision on whether to accept Mr Leterme's resignation saying a political crisis would "seriously threaten" Belgium's role in Europe.

Flemish Christian democrat Leterme informed King Albert II of his decision to quit, after just five months at the helm, from the job he inherited from predecessor Herman Van Rompuy who left to become the first EU president.

"It's a big drama for Belgium given the European context," said former prime minister Wilfried Martens, who is president of the centre-right European People's Party.

"It's terrible for the prestige of our country" he added, mindful of Belgium's impending term, from July, at the helm of the EU's rotating presidency.

Belgium is fiercely proud of the role of Brussels as 'the capital of Europe' where the EU's main institutions have their headquarters.

"This crisis seriously undermines the image of Belgium in the EU," echoed Belgian Euro deputy Isabelle Durant, a vice-president of the Brussels chamber.

Mr Leterme's decision to offer his resignation was forced when his Flemish liberal allies, the Open VLD, quit the five-party coalition earlier yesterday over a long-running row between the country's Dutch-speaking and francophone communities over electoral rules in flashpoint suburbs of Brussels.

The Prime Minister "presented the resignation of his government," said a palace statement. "The king is withholding his decision." "The King and the Prime Minister underlined how unfortunate it would be, in the current circumstances, to be drawn into a political crisis," it said.

Such an outcome, it added, "would seriously threaten on the one hand the economic and social well-being of its citizens and on the other hand Belgium's role at a European level." The political crisis also made it impossible for Belgian lawmakers to hold a much-anticipated vote yesterday on imposing a ban on wearing the Islamic burqa in public.

Open VLD took its decision after lengthy talks between parties from the two linguistic regions failed to reach a deal over the special voting rights which apply to French speakers in the Brussels-Hal-Vilvorde suburbs, where around 100,000 francophones live.