Brussels - The man charged with leading Belgium out of its political crisis has finished his mission, but the results are not yet clear, the palace of King Albert II announced Sunday. Former prime minister Wilfried Martens, 72, tasked by the king with heading talks on a new government after the old one collapsed a week ago, "made a report on the results of his mission" on Sunday afternoon, a terse statement from the palace said.
It is the first time that the palace has spoken of results from the mission, having hitherto spoken only of "developments."
While no further details were forthcoming from official sources, the Belga news agency reported that Dutch-speaking conservative Herman van Rompuy, current president of the Belgian parliament, had been called to the palace on Sunday evening.
Van Rompuy has frequently been named as a possible successor to fellow-conservative Yves Leterme, whose government fell on December 19 after it was alleged that Leterme had tried to pressure judges in a court case concerning the sale of collapsed banking giant Fortis.
Martens' efforts have focused on preserving the five-party coalition forged by Leterme and finding politicians from within the fallen premier's party with enough status to lead it.
The 61-year-old van Rompuy has so far said that he does not want the job, which comes as Belgium is struggling with the consequences of the global financial crisis and with bitter infighting between French and Dutch speaking politicians.
Dutch-speaking conservatives have also named former premier Jean- Luc Dehaene, 68, as a possible successor to Leterme. However, Dehaene's nomination is opposed by the French-speaking liberal party, one of the coalition's five constituent parties.
