They managed!
It took them half a year, but the Belgian federal politicians finally managed to come up with some form of government. I can't say I'm impressed.
Well.
In a way I am impressed. After trying for 6 months, Leterme still failed to produce some form of government. Since the situation was becoming quite dire, the King gave Verhofstadt the initiative, who then promptly produced a government in only two weeks.Granted, Verhofstadt's mission was not as hard as Leterme's. Verhofstadt was told to form a government only to handle the most urgent matters, and which will be disbanded at Easter; Leterme was asked to form a government to last for four years, which is how long a Belgian federal government usually holds office. And yes, Leterme's mission has most likely been one of the hardest one in the history of Belgian formation talks.
But even if all that is true, I'm baffled at the fact that the intention now still is to make Leterme the prime minister at or around Easter. In my opinion, he's had his chance and blew it.
Then again, maybe I'm biased. I've never liked Leterme; and when his party CD&V decided to ally themselves with a separatist party, I decided to gracefully extend my antipathy to his entire party.