(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)

BY YUTAKA HAYASHI

ANCHOR MEGAN MURPHY
 

Belgium has sworn in a new prime minister--  that, after a record 541 days without a government. Euronews has more:

"…Belgium's King Albert II has appointed a new cabinet. Socialist leader, Elio Di Rupo will head the new government, the first native French-speaking prime minister of Belgium since 1979."

For 541 days, Belguim’s King Albert II has tried and failed to find someone to lead his country.  A writer for the National Post reports -- the problem was linguistic.

"The reason it’s so hard to come up with a government in Belgium is because its language tensions make Canada’s French-English divide look like the epitome of fraternity and good fellowship. The well-off Dutch-speaking northern part of the country looks down on the French-speaking less-prosperous south.”

Now, Di Rupo wasn’t just handed the job -- he had to get the support first, forming an alliance with members from six political parties.  But the Epoch Times reports -- Belgium’s biggest party isn’t participating...

“Flanders’s nationalist New Flemish Alliance (NV-A), a relatively young conservative party and big electoral winner in Flanders, ended up in the opposition because of its resolute refusal to give in on key points during the negotiations.”

So, how did Di Rupo manage to unite a six party alliance in a highly divided country? BBC says it might’ve been a kick in the pants from a certain ratings agency.

"The step forward came shortly after the ratings agency Standard & Poor's downgraded the country's credit rating. The new budget is designed to bring down Belgium's public sector deficit to within EU imposed limits."