Belgium

King sees party leaders after government resigns

Article published on the 2008-12-20 Latest update 2008-12-20 15:04 TU

Yves Leterme after meeting King Albert II
(Photo: Reuters)

Belgium's King Albert II on Saturday afternoon continued meetings with the leaders of the four parties in the coalition government which was toppled by a legal scandal on Friday. Prime Minister Yves Leterme resigned after accusations that his government tried to influence the outcome of a legal action brought by shareholders of the Fortis bank over the sale of its assets to France's BNP Paribas.

Leterme resigned after accusations that his aides tried to influence the court in the Fortis case and that a judge kept the government informed of the case's progress.

On Friday minority shareholders won an appeal against the government's orchstration of the sale of Fortis's Belgian assets to the French bank as part of a rescue package in October.

Also on Friday top judge Ghislain Londers said there is "strong evidence" that Leterme's associates tried to influence the court.

Leterme's style has been widely criticised for its dourness but the government's fundamental weakness lay in the difficulty of uniting its component parts, Flemish-speaking Liberals and Christian Democrats and French-speaking Liberals and Socialists.