Belgium PM loses big ally over migration row
brussels — Belgium’s Prime Minister Charles Michel was left leading a minority administration on Sunday after the Flemish nationalist party quit the ruling coalition over his support of a UN migration pact.
The New Flemish Alliance (NVA), the largest of the coalition’s four parties, had earlier threatened to leave if Michel backed the accord, which has become a cause celebre for European anti-immigration parties.
Belgium’s King Philippe accepted the resignations of the N-VA’s ministers on Sunday after meeting with Michel at the royal palace, according to a statement.
Michel also presented the king with the names of those who would replace the N-VA ministers in the interior, finance, defence and migration portfolios.
The departure of the Flemish party means Michel will lack a parliamentary majority for five months ahead of legislative elections scheduled for late May.
Interior minister and N-VA member Jan Jambon had confirmed earlier Sunday that he and the party’s other ministers would step down.
“It’s clear,” he told national broadcaster RTBF, following hours of uncertainty.
In power for four years, the coalition has often been riven over the N-VA’s anti-migration positions.
Party leader Bart De Wever issued Michel an ultimatum on Saturday night, suggesting that the N-VA would quit the coalition if the prime minister flew to a UN conference in Marrakesh on Sunday to endorse the migration pact.
“If we no longer have a voice in this government... there is no point in continuing,” he said. Michel stood firm, saying he would represent Belgium in Marrakesh as the “head of state of a responsible coalition”. —