As reported by Le Soir, Bart De Wever, leader of the New Flemish Alliance party, and his ministers took the oath before King Philippe on Monday morning. After this, De Wever will meet with his predecessor, Alexander De Croo, for the handover of power.
On the same day, De Wever is expected at the Egmont Palace, where an informal summit of heads of state and government of the European Union countries is taking place.
On Tuesday, at 11:00 local time, the new Prime Minister will visit the Royal Palace again to meet with the King. At 14:00, he will be expected at the Chamber of Representatives to deliver a statement on the government’s general policy, which will be debated by lawmakers on Wednesday. The vote of confidence in the new government is scheduled for Thursday, after which the new coalition will be officially approved.
The elections in Belgium were held last June, simultaneously with the elections to the European Parliament. After the elections, King Philippe accepted the resignation of the government of Alexander De Croo, who resigned following the poor result of his liberal party.
Since July of last year, Bart De Wever has been negotiating to create a five-party coalition involving the centrist French-speaking party Les Engagés, the French-speaking right-wing “Reformist Movement” (MR), the Dutch-speaking Christian Democratic Party, and the Flemish party Vooruit. On January 31, these parties reached an agreement on key issues, allowing the formation of the government to begin.
