Flemish Christian Democrat Yves Leterme was appointed on Wednesday for a second stint as Belgian prime minister that will test his ability to keep the country stable and manage divisions between Dutch- and French-speakers, according to Reuters. King Albert appointed Leterme, 49, to replace Herman Van Rompuy, who was chosen as president of the European Union last week. But Belgian media doubted whether his new term would be any better than his rocky nine months in charge in 2008. "Can he do better?" was the headline of French-language La Libre Belgique newspaper. A poll by Het Laatste Nieuws, a top-selling newspaper in Dutch-speaking Flanders, showed a majority of its readers believed Leterme would not succeed. "This government has chosen continuity. The priorities remain the same," Leterme said in a speech to lawmakers. "I take over the torch with energy, a desire to calm and with ambition for the country." Parliament is expected to approve the cabinet on Friday. Leterme was the clear winner of the 2007 federal election on a platform of devolving more powers to the regions, but failed to win over French-speaking parties, which fear such change would be a step towards the break-up of the country. He struggled for nine months to form a government, which then lurched for another nine months from one crisis to another. He resigned last December over alleged political meddling in the break-up of Belgo-Dutch financial services group Fortis. He has since been absolved and has been Belgium"s foreign minister since July. By contrast, Van Rompuy"s 11 months in charge saw no sign of the internal tensions that had prompted media speculation the country might split. ECONOMIC POLICY IS A PRIORITY At the height of the government crisis in 2007, central bank governor Guy Quaden said it risked increasing Belgium"s budget deficit, and investors attached a risk premium to Belgian debt. Leterme told parliament on Wednesday there was a real risk of bankruptcies and rising unemployment, even though Belgium pulled out of recession in the third quarter. The first big jobs blow could come next month after General Motors acting European chief said the future of the Opel plant in Antwerp, Belgium, was "uncertain". Leterme will inherit a government that has already set a budget for 2010 and 2011, but the fragile recovery means Belgium can ill afford a political stalemate. "We are just pulling out of recession, so economic policy is clearly needed," said ING economist Philippe Ledent. Leterme will also need to find a consensus on redrawing the political boundaries around Brussels and on further powers that can be devolved to the regions, which already have a wealth of control over areas such as agriculture and foreign trade. On Tuesday, the king gave another former prime minister, Jean-Luc Dehaene, responsibility for proposing ways to resolve those issues. Dehaene, dubbed the plumber for his capacity to fix things, is to present his ideas early next year. The move does not resolve disputes between Dutch-speaking Flemish parties and their French-speaking counterparts, but gives Leterme a better chance of success at his second attempt. "These matters are kept away from the government, allowing it to function," said Kris Deschouwer, political analyst at Brussels" Free University. "I think there is also a real readiness finally to resolve this tiresome matter." The next federal election is due in mid-2011, but the government will hope to find a solution before July, when Belgium takes over the six-month rotating EU presidency.
