Belgian King Philippe appoints Bart De Wever to form government

BRUSSELS -- Belgium's King Philippe appointed Bart De Wever, president of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), to form the federal government on Wednesday.

De Wever, who was received at the Royal Palace Wednesday morning, submitted his final report as "preformateur" to the King. He has accepted the mission as "formateur" and will conduct negotiations with various political parties to form a new federal government, reporting back to the King on July 24.

De Wever, while serving as preformateur, received the endorsement of four political parties ready to enter into coalition negotiations, including the Mouvement Reformateur (MR) and Les Engages on the French-speaking side, and the CD&V and Vooruit on the Dutch-speaking side.

In all, five political parties currently form the basis of a future federal government, pending the outcome of negotiations to be led by De Wever.

Negotiations among the coalition parties will cover diverse issues, including socio-economic recovery, investment in healthcare, boosting the purchasing power of low-income earners and activation of jobseekers.