King Albert Declares Belgium's New Prime Minister

On December 21th, the Belgian government crisis was resolved temporarily. An interim government was formed as King Albert of the Belgians declared Guy Verhofstadt, Belgium’s new Prime Minister. Six months have passed since the elections were held and the previous government was dissolved. In spite of his ill health, the king has intervened and negotiated with ministers to form a new government, but to no avail.

Finally, after much persuasion by Guy Verhofstadt, appointed negotiator by the king, the fractured five parties agreed to an interim government on December 20th. The newly formed cabinet consists of four Flemish liberals, four Francophone socialists, one Francophone Christian democrat, two Francophone liberals and four Flemish Christian democrats.

On Friday afternoon, the prime minister presented a ten-point plan. On Sunday, the Belgian parliament approved the interim government by 97 votes. It is the hope of Mr. Verhofstadt that Yves Leterme (Flemish Christian democrat) will take the reins of powers at the end of March.

Jordan's King Reviews Royal Agenda at Prime Ministry

Just before the parliamentary election on November 20th, King Abdullah II of Jordan visited the Prime Ministry and spoke with Prime Minister Marouf al-Bakhit regarding the royal agenda for a social security network, improving economic and social conditions in Jordan and reviewing the procedures that would ensure the elections were fair and honest. The election “should reflect our vision to promote democracy and bring a parliament capable of addressing challenges ahead,” the king said, “and raising the citizens’ income is a priority for the coming phase and the average Jordanian should feel the positive impact of developmental projects being carried out by the government.”