Belgian Prime Minister Fails to Win Third Term

The Belgian prime minister was drummed out of office last night in a general election likely to produce a new coalition led by Christian Democrats.

Guy Verhofstadt, a liberal, had been fighting for a third term after eight years in office, but his party slumped to third place. The Christian Democrats in Flanders, the northern and larger part of the country, emerged as the strongest party with about 30% of the regional vote. Weeks of horse-trading were inevitable as a result of the complex electoral and constitutional system. The chances are that there will be no new governing coalition until after the summer break.

The Belgian political system is unusual in that there are effectively no national parties running to govern the country as a result of Belgium's divide into the larger Dutch-speaking region of Flanders and the southern Francophone area of Wallonia, as well as the fact that voting is compulsory in the country of more than 10 million.

In Flanders, the Christian Democrats won, with their leader and the region's prime minister, Yves Leterme, tipped to become the national prime minister. Flanders usually puts up the prime minister. The hard-right, anti-immigrant and separatist Vlaams Belang, or Flemish Interest party, came second in Flanders, slightly increasing its vote.

The mainstream parties have agreed to maintain a "cordon sanitaire" around the Flemish nationalists to keep them out of power. But Mr Leterme advanced his electoral prospects by bowing to the nationalist agenda, campaigning for a stricter separation between wealthy Flanders and poorer Wallonia.

"It is time for change. People want a different course," he told his jubilant party faithful last night.