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Belgian MPs support crisis leader | |
(20 minutes later) | |
Belgium's parliament has backed a new interim government appointed to end the country's six-month political crisis. | |
Belgium's caretaker Prime Minister, Guy Verhofstadt, won a vote of confidence on Sunday by 97 votes to 46. | |
King Albert appointed him last Thursday for a three-month term. Coalition talks had failed to reconcile party leaders. | |
Belgium's Dutch-speaking Flemish majority and the French-speaking Walloons remain deeply divided over questions of regional autonomy. | Belgium's Dutch-speaking Flemish majority and the French-speaking Walloons remain deeply divided over questions of regional autonomy. |
Mr Verhofstadt, a Dutch-speaking Liberal, has pledged to spend the next three months drafting a new budget, tackling rising prices and preparing reforms to devolve more power to the regions. | Mr Verhofstadt, a Dutch-speaking Liberal, has pledged to spend the next three months drafting a new budget, tackling rising prices and preparing reforms to devolve more power to the regions. |
In March his five-party cabinet will hand power to Yves Leterme's Flemish Christian Democrats - the winners of the 10 June elections. |