Brussels seems to fail again at providing political stability for its institutions. The entire cabinet -a coalition of five parties led by the Flemish Yves Leterme- has turned in its resignation after being accused by the Supreme Court of influencing the judiciary on the Fortis bank case. Although Leterme has said in several occasions that he won't take office again, it still remains to be seen whether the head of the State, King Albert II, will accept Leterme's resignation.

On the weekend, King Albert opened the way for negotiations with Flemish and Walloon political leaders in order to reach an agreement and find a way out of crisis. The meetings could result in two different scenarios: the announcement of a new coalition leader or a calling of general elections.

In the latter case, it is very likely that elections will be set for June 2009, since regional elections in Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels, together with European elections, are to be held in the very same month.

Whatever the outcome of the talks, it seems clear that the most challenging task is to find a candidate to lead a new cabinet. Renowned politicians such as Jean-Luc Dehaene, former Prime Minister, and Herman Van Rompuy, President of the Chamber of Representatives, are being considered for office. "It is very difficult to imagine who would want it. It's a terrible job", Carl Devos, political scientist at Ghent University, told Reuters.

Further information:

• deredactie.be: 2009 or 2011?
• LeVif.be: Vers de nouvelles élections?
• Reuters: SCENARIOS-What next for Belgium after government collapse?
• MónDivers: Bèlgica debat si convoca eleccions federals el 2009 o s'espera al 2011

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