Flemish nationalist Bart de Wever sworn in as Belgium's new prime minister

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Newly appointed Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever speaks with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez at the Palais d'Egmont in Brussels on February 3, 2025.

Conservative Bart De Wever was sworn in Monday as Belgium's new prime minister after seven months of tortuous negotiations to reach a coalition deal that shifts the country to the right. De Wever has pledged to crack down on irregular migration and has pushed for cuts in social benefits and pension reforms.

Conservative Bart De Wever was sworn in Monday as Belgium's new prime minister, after striking a hard-fought coalition deal that moves the country to the right.

Reached after seven months of tortuous negotiations, the agreement makes De Wever the first nationalist from Dutch-speaking Flanders to be named Belgian premier.

A law-and-order candidate whose coalition has already promised to crack down on irregular migration, De Wever's rise to power reinforces a marked right-wing shift in European politics.

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The 54-year-old, who in recent years has backed off on calls for Flanders to become an independent country, took the oath of office before King Philippe at the royal palace in Brussels.

From there, he headed straight to a gathering of EU leaders a few blocks away, for talks on defence and transatlantic relations -- quipping to reporters that he was "jumping right in".

Split between French- and Dutch-speaking communities and with a highly complex political system, Belgium has an unenviable record of painfully protracted coalition discussions -- reaching 541 days back in 2010-2011.

(AFP)


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