Five parties form interim government
Belgian leaders cobbled together an interim government that will tackle urgent economic issues, ending a six-month political deadlock.
The five-party interim government will be in office three months, which will give officials more time to agree on constitutional reforms designed to grant more autonomy to the Dutch-speaking Flanders and French-speaking Wallonia regions.
Outgoing Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, a Dutch-speaking Liberal, will be sworn in Friday as head of the interim Cabinet of Christian Democrats and Liberals -- each split into Dutch- and French-speaking camps -- and French-speaking Socialists.
Belgium has been without a permanent government since the June 10 elections in which the Liberals and Christian Democrats won 81 of the 150 seats. Their efforts to form a government collapsed repeatedly in self-rule disputes.
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