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rfmcdonaldOne of Spiegel Online's more recent news roundup sfrom German newspapers was "'Belgium Is the World's Most Successful Failed State'".
The Financial Times, The Guardian, and Agence France-Presse all have more coverage, basically boiling down to the suggestion that Leterme was frustrated by his inability to forge a workable governing coalition, and, certainly, the ongoing disputes over Brussels and its frontiers doesn't help.
A question to people in Belgium and in surrounding regions: Are there any other themes that I'm missing to all this?
The Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme threw in the towel late on Monday night, saying he could not force through a consensus between the Flemish and French-speaking coalition partners.
Leterme offered his resignation (more...) to King Albert II, who has so far not formally accepted it. The king is now holding consultations with lawmakers expected to last several days.
In his statement, Leterme, head of the Flemish-speaking Christian Democrats, said the "federal consensus model has reached its limits" -- raising the specter of Belgium breaking up for good. The prime minister had a self-imposed July 15 deadline to come up with an agreement on constitutional reform.
The Financial Times, The Guardian, and Agence France-Presse all have more coverage, basically boiling down to the suggestion that Leterme was frustrated by his inability to forge a workable governing coalition, and, certainly, the ongoing disputes over Brussels and its frontiers doesn't help.
A question to people in Belgium and in surrounding regions: Are there any other themes that I'm missing to all this?
