Christian democrat Herman Van Rompuy has delivered his first speech before the Parliament on the last day of the year. Van Rompuy, a 61 years old politician, has succeeded Yves Leterme, who offered resignation following judicial scandal in relation to Fortis Bank. In his speech, Van Rompuy said his cabinet will implement the policies set out by his predecessor, and also referred to the State reforms he intends to tackle.

The new government, which retains the same composition as Leterme's, is made up by the five parties the previous cabinet consisted of: on the Flemish side of the linguistic divide, the Christian Democrat and Flemish (CD&V) and the Flemish Liberal and Democrats (Open VLD); on the French one, the Socialist Party (PS), Reformation Movement (MR) and Humanist Democratic Center (CDH). Each of these parties will have one Vice-president in the government: Steven Vanackere for CD&V, Karel De Gucht for Open VLD, Laurette Onkelinx representing PS, Didier Reynders for MR and Joëlle Milquet for CDH.

Van Rompuy will try to serve out his term, finishing in 2011, with this government. He has two years left to find a solution for State reforms, a matter which lie at heart of the dispute between Flemish and Walloons. The Prime Minister said this morning that reforming measures must be agreed upon so that institutions run efficiently. According to Flemish parties, that means to transfer more powers to regions (Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels) and diminish federal administration. The problem is that Walloon parties only accept limited reforms.

Van Rompuy also brought up the Brussels-Halle-Vilvorde (BHV) constituency issue, which remains unresolved after many years. The constituency encompasses the Belgian capital and several Flemish-speaking towns around it belonging to the Flemish Region and Community. These are the only municipalities where it is possible for people to vote for parties and candidates from another Region and Community than the one they live in, an exceptional status Flemish parties want to remove.

According to the Belga news agency, Van Rompuy declared to the members of Parliament that a working committee will have to be set up immediately in order to draw up "solution proposals" for the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde constituency conflict. The Prime Minister added that conclusions drawn by experts will be considered by next summer.

Picture: New Prime Minister, Herman Van Rompuy. Photo by Luc Van Braekel.

Further information:

• De Redactie: New PM reads government policy statement
• De Standaard: Van Rompuy 'werkt aan vertrouwen'
• RTBF: "Oeuvrer à la confiance", le credo de Van Rompuy Ier
• Nationalia:The king of Belgium meets Flemish and Walloon parties after a new political crisis

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