“I would like to sincerely thank our voters and militants. The election results are a disappointment and I take responsibility for that,” the Flemish politician conceded, after scooping only 5.4% of national votes, down 3.1% compared to the last federal elections held five years ago, according to newspaper Le Soir.
Despite polls predicting that the far-right, anti-immigration Vlaams Belang party would become the main political force in the country with 11.5 million inhabitants, the right-wing nationalist New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) retained its first spot, with 16.7% of the votes.
Sunday’s results will result in complex negotiations in a country divided by language and deep regional identities. Belgium is split along linguistic lines, with francophone Wallonia in the south and Dutch-speaking Flanders in the north, and governments are invariably formed by coalitions made of parties from both regions.
Belgium holds the world record for the longest time needed to form a government, after a government coalition was named in December 2021 following a total of 541 days of negotiations.
More than 8 million Belgians voted in what was dubbed ‘Super Sunday’ elections to choose their regional and national representatives, as well as MEPs in the new European Parliament.
Source link : https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2024/06/10/belgian-king-accepts-de-croo-resignation
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Publish date : 2024-06-10 07:00:00
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