Belgium’s king reappoints De Wever to lead gov’t formation talks

BRUSSELS, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) — Belgium’s King Philippe has reappointed Bart De Wever, leader of the Flemish nationalist N-VA party, to lead talks on the formation of a new government.
The Royal Palace announced the decision on Monday after King Philippe met with royal mediator Maxime Prevot, who has been mediating since August 23.
Prevot, leader of Les Engages party, has reported that the five involved parties — the French-speaking Reformist Movement (MR), Les Engages, the N-VA, the Flemish Christian Democrats (CD&V), and Vooruit — are now ready to resume negotiations.
De Wever is now tasked with restarting coalition talks as soon as possible.
De Wever resigned on August 22 due to major disagreements, which had arisen over a proposed capital gains tax aimed at raising 500 million euros (553 million U.S. dollars) annually. ■