Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt is set to present his resignation on Monday (11 June) after his Socialist-Liberal coalition was dealt a severe defeat in Belgium's general election at the weekend.
The Flemish Christian Democrat party (CD&V) emerges as the big winner, with leader Yves Leterme, 46, starting consultations with other parties to find a new ruling majority in Parliament. The process could take months, as the proportional voting system tends to scatter seats in Parliament.
Leterme's expected appointment heralds the return of the linguistic divide at the forefront of the national political scene as one of his main campaign lines has been to transfer more autonomy to the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders, which he currently heads.
Belgium is split between an economically mighty Flanders to the North and a French-speaking South, Wallonia, embroiled in deep industrial restructuring.
A change in the constitution sought by Leterme would require the support of a two-thirds majority in both Flanders and Wallonia.
But with Leterme clearly leading the polls ahead of the election, French-speaking parties have agreed a common strategy to block any further institutional reforms.
