King Philippe gives Belgium’s coalition 10 more days

The crisis began on Nov. 2, when De Wever offered his resignation. Philippe did not accept it or call for elections. Instead, he met party leaders in an effort to break the deadlock, saying the country could not afford a prolonged political crisis amid geopolitical uncertainty and severe economic challenges. The king also said he regretted the failure to agree on a credible budget.

Party leaders held secret talks at the palace through the week. On Friday morning, De Wever returned to hear the outcome. Philippe tasked him with immediately restarting negotiations and deferred a decision on his resignation, giving the coalition another 10 days to agree on savings needed to put public finances on a sustainable footing.

The episode highlights the role Belgium’s monarch can play when its fragmented political system stalls, said Caroline Sägesser, a researcher at Brussels-based CRISP, the Center for Socio-Political Research and Information. Belgium went 541 days without a government in 2010, when then-King Albert II played a central part in forming one. At the time, party leaders said they had to put their confidence in the sovereign. Belgian lawyer and political scientist Philippe Lauvaux described the king as “the only remaining fixed point in a landscape of institutional debacle.”

Sägesser called the current crisis a political game between De Wever and Philippe, saying leaders may find it harder to refuse the king than the prime minister. She said this kind of intervention is unusual in the 21st century, as the monarch normally takes on such a role after elections. De Wever also sought the king’s agreement last year to extend budget negotiations.

Peter Clement, a Ghent resident who watched party leaders enter and leave the palace with his four-year-old grandson, said the king had “no real power” but could urge politicians to act responsibly. “It’s tradition, and that’s a good thing for Belgium,” he said.