A center-right coalition led by the Liberal parties took office in July 1999, and Liberal leader Guy Verhofstadt of the Flemish Liberal Democrats became prime minister. The formation of the new government, which also included the left-leaning Socialist parties and the environmentalist Green parties, marked the first time since 1958 that the Christian Democrats had been excluded from government. Verhofstadt and his coalition were returned to power following parliamentary elections in 2003. The government’s plan to raise the age at which Belgian workers could retire with full benefits led to strikes in late 2005. In local elections held in 2000 a far-right party, Vlaams Blok (Flemish Block), achieved significant gains.

The Vlaams Blok wants independence for the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders and an end to immigration. In 2004 the Vlaams Blok was declared racist, deprived of funding, and subsequently disbanded. However, it reorganized under a new name. Meanwhile, disputes over Belgium’s language boundaries continued in the early 2000s. In parliamentary elections in June 2007, Verhofstadt’s party suffered a crushing defeat, coming in fourth place, and Verhofstadt resigned as prime minister. The Flemish Christian Democrats emerged as the single largest party and its leader, Yves Leterme, was nominated to form a coalition government. However, ensuing rounds of coalition talks repeatedly broke down as the French-speaking politicians of Wallonia rejected Leterme’s plans to give more autonomy to the regions.

Guy Verhofstadt in Belgium

The country remained mired in political deadlock until March 2008, when marathon talks led to the formation of a five-party coalition government headed by Leterme. Leterme offered his resignation in June after failing to get support for a plan to devolve power to the regions. Belgium’s king, Albert II, refused to accept the resignation, and Leterme remained in office.

In December 2008 Leterme again tendered his resignation, this time due to a dispute over the government’s acquisition of Fortis Bank, one of the European banks hardest hit by the global financial crisis. The king accepted the resignation this time but asked Leterme to remain as the head of a caretaker government until former prime minister Wilfried Martens could help fashion a new government. In January 2009 Belgian politician Herman Van Rompuy was named prime minister, heading the same five-party coalition assembled by Leterme. Van Rompuy also retained most of Leterme’s cabinet and promised to follow the same policies. Encarta