The prime minister’s coalition is in crisis over stalled attempts to reach a deal for next year’s budget.
BRUSSELS— Belgium’s King Philippe is considering Prime Minister Bart De Wever’s resignation after the premier offered to step down following failed attempts by his coalition government to agree to plug a €10 billion budget gap.
In an 11th-hour attempt to reach a deal for next year’s budget, top officials from De Wever’s five-party government gathered over the weekend, but left without an agreement early Monday morning. Tuesday was widely seen as the unofficial deadline to strike a deal, as the budget still has to pass through parliament before the end of the year.
As part of the talks, De Wever wanted to show financial markets that Belgium is on track to meet its European obligations. Belgium had a deficit of 5.2 % of GDP in 2025, which is expected to rise further next year.
After De Wever offered his resignation Monday morning, the palace said the king was “postponing his decision” and “will begin consultations tomorrow with the party leaders of the various coalition partners.” It added that the king “is appealing to everyone’s sense of responsibility and urges all stakeholders to prioritize the general interest and a spirit of compromise.”
The prime minister is expected to meet the king again on Friday.
De Wever had ruled out starting the new year with a temporary budget, which would let the government continue with the same budget as last year’s.
Budget talks have been ongoing for weeks, with tensions emerging mostly between the Flemish socialists of Forward and the Francophone center-right Reformist Movement.
The former asked for more contributions from the highest incomes, through taxes, while the latter ruled that out and pushed back against a wider reform of value-added tax.
There were still “far too many taxes on the table,” David Clarinval, deputy prime minister for the Reformist Movement, told reporters when talks broke up. He didn’t rule out discussions resuming today.
Last November, Belgium’s budget talks also went into extra time. On this occasion, De Wever did not tender his resignation, but requested an extension to budget talks from King Philippe. The king granted him an additional 50 days to reach an agreement.
If Belgium is on track for snap elections, the country could lean toward extreme parties, with both the far-right Vlaams Belang and the far-left Workers Party performing well in the polls.
This article has been updated.