Belgium’s King Albert II named Flemish Christian Democrat Herman Van Rompuy as Prime Minister on Tuesday. This comes after months of political turmoil that has Belgium wondering if the country would split.
The last Prime Minister, Yves Leterme, stepped down earlier this month over allegations of political interference in the bailout of banking giant Fortis, that has left Belgium on the brink of recession.
King Albert named Van Rompuy prime minister-designate at the suggestion of ex-premier Wilfried Martens, who spent six days sounding out political leaders on how to quickly form a new government.
Considered a colourless but reliable leader, Van Rompuy is seen as providing a steady hand on the wheel after 18 months of squabbling among the Dutch and French-speaking coalition partners under Leterme.
Van Rompuy is a Dutch-speaking Christan Democrat.
He now faces the challenge of dealing with a troubled economy, and tensions between Belgium’s wealthier Dutch-speaking region, the Flemish, with the poorer French-speaking region of Wallonia.
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