Belgium's king rejects PM Bart De Wever's resignation and orders budget talks to resume

Who's saying what

• King Philippe

  On 2 November the palace said the king regretted that no agreement had been reached on a credible budget and that the country cannot afford a prolonged political crisis. Rejecting the resignation, the palace said the leaders had committed to acting responsibly and compromising.¹³⁶⁷

• MR (Francophone liberals) and N-VA

  Deputy Prime Minister David Clarinval of MR blamed Vooruit for the breakdown and said the last proposal on the table included more than €3 billion in new taxes. MR calls for structural spending reform rather than tax rises.¹³

• Vooruit, CD&V and Les Engagés

  The socialist, Christian Democrat and centrist partners wanted part of the money raised from higher incomes; Euronews puts their target at €1 billion to €1.5 billion. Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot said there were "too many sticking points". After seeing the king on 4 November, Vooruit president Conner Rousseau said: "I told the King that we want an agreement", adding that it must be fair and everyone must do their part (translated from French).¹³⁴⁵

• Opposition

  Matti Vandemaele of the Greens (Groen) said De Wever "is failing to get his government on the same page".¹

What's next

De Wever and the coalition resume talks now, and he reports to the king on 16 November. AP says the goal is an agreement on the 2027 budget before 31 December. Some commentators think the resignation offer was a political move to force a deal, AP reports. Belgian governments have often kept negotiating after offering to resign.³⁶⁷

The full story

Belgium's government survives for now, but its budget fight is not over. The 'Arizona' coalition of N-VA, MR, Les Engagés, Vooruit and CD&V, which took 234 days to form, needs about €10 billion in savings or new revenue for 2027 to bring its deficit back towards the EU's 3% limit; the European Commission forecasts debt at 110% of GDP this year. The parties split over whether part of that should come from taxing higher incomes. Prime Minister Bart De Wever offered his government's resignation on 2 November. After consulting party leaders, King Philippe rejected it on 6 November and sent him back to negotiate, with a report due on 16 November.

checked Nov 6, 2026