BELGIUM: COMPOSITION OF NEW GOVERNMENT HEADED BY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 001965 SIPDIS USDOC FOR 4212/ITA/MAC/EUR/OECA/WNE/JLEVINE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PINR BE SUBJECT: BELGIUM: COMPOSITION OF NEW GOVERNMENT HEADED BY HERMAN VAN ROMPUY REF: BRUSSELS 1961 ¶1. (U) Herman Van Rompuy became Belgium's Prime Minister on December 30, and will lead a government mostly composed of the same Ministers who served outgoing PM Yves Leterme. The few ministerial changes are Stefaan de Clercq at Justice (replacing Jo Vandeurzen),Guido de Padt at Interior, replacing Patrick Dewael, who becomes Leader of the House, and, in a last-minute change, Steven Vanackere as Minister of Public Works/Enterprise and Institutional Reform. Vanackere's predecessor, Inge Vervotte, submitted her resignation mid-afternoon on December 30 in "solidarity" with outgoing PM Leterme and Vandeurzen, according to press reports. Minister of Foreign Affairs Karel De Gucht kept his position and was also designated to be a Deputy Prime Minister. ¶2. (U) The new government, Belgium's third in the last 18 months, will face a daunting list of responsibilities in the run-up to June 2009's regional and European elections: adjusting the 2009 budget to tougher economic and fiscal realities brought on by the recession, while fine-tuning the stimulus package designed by the Leterme administration; implementing the 2009-10 wage agreement; re-starting the dialogue between Belgium's Flemish and Walloon communities; and managing the hoped-for sale of Fortis Bank to BNP Paribas (assuming the courts rule that the sale may proceed) and providing additional help if needed to other Belgian banks (e.g., Dexia). And the new government must do this while trying to keep its five-party coalition together through the June elections and beyond to 2011. LIST OF MINISTERS -------------- ¶3. Here is the make-up of the new government (unofficial English translations from the French provided by Embassy Brussels) sworn in the evening of December 30 by King Albert II (* designates change of personnel from Leterme government): Prime Minister: Herman Van Rompuy* Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Institutional Reforms: Didier Reynders Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Social Affairs and Public Health: Laurette Onkelinx Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs: Karel De Gucht Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Affairs, Public Enterprises and Institutional Reforms: Steven Van Ackere* Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labor and Equality of Opportunity: Joelle Milquet Minister of Justice: Stefaan De Clercq* Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises, Independent Business, Agriculture and Science Policy: Sabine Laruelle Minister of Social Integration, Retirement and Urban Centers: Marie Arena Minister of Defense: Pieter De Crem Minister of Climate and Energy: Paul Magnette Minister of Development Cooperation: Charles Michel Minister for Enterprise and Simplification: Vincent Van Quickenborne Minister of Immigration and Asylum Policy: Annemie Turtelboom Minister of Interior: Guido De Padt* SOME BACKROUND ON VAN ROMPUY -------------- ¶4. Van Rompuy is the first economist to serve as Prime Minister in the last 27 years. Perhaps showing the importance that budgetary matters will have, Van Rompuy, who was budget minister from 1992-97 and in that job successfully engineered improvements in Belgium's public finances, will have the State Minister for Budget report directly to him, no longer to the Minister of Finance. Van Rompuy lives in the Brussels region, and reportedly has good contacts with Belgium's francophone politicians. Van Rompuy's administration could take on a more pro-business bent, with the departure of Leterme, Vandeurzen and Vervotte, who were more aligned with the trade union faction of the CD&V. ¶5. Unofficial bio of Minister of Justice Stefaan De Clerck (unofficial translation from the French by Embassy Brussels, source: LeSoir.be) 51 years old, born in the Flemish city of Kortrijk. Studied BRUSSELS 00001965 002 OF 002 law at Catholic University of Leuven. Practiced law in Kortrijk, where he is mayor. Quickly made a name for himself in politics. Became a representative of the Federal parliament in 1990, and was already considered as being potential ministerial material when the first Dehaene government was formed (1992-95). Five years later he became Minister of Justice in the second Dehaene administration.(1995-99). In April 1998, though, he became one of the "political victims" of the Dutroux affaire (note: Marc Dutroux was convicted of murder and child pornography),pushed to retirement following the short period when Dutroux, the most notorious of Belgian prisonners, escaped from the Belgian police. However, it was due to a push by De Clerck and the work of the Dutroux Commission that a more rapid reform of the judicial system was begun. De Clerck was president of the CVP (and subsequently the CD&V) from 1999 to 2003. He became president following legislative elections in which the Flemish Christian Democrats were pushed from power for the first time in 40 years. But De Clerck himself remained popular and was able to obtain satisfactory results for his party in the communal elections of 2000. The year 2000 was also when he became mayor of Kortrijk, a post he still occupies. As head of the CD&V, De Clerck began the process of renewing the party, which started during a party congress at the end of September 2001, when the party was renamed the Christian Democrats and Flemish party, and also when the party adopted a "confederated state" model. De Clerck was also a senator in 2003 and 2004, and is a member of Parliament. Post adds that De Clerck was an International Visitor (IV) grantee in 1992, is generally pro-U.S., and is a basketball fan. ¶6. Unofficial bio of Minister of Interior Guido De Padt (unofficial translation from the French by Embassy Brussels, source: LeSoir.be) 54 years old, member of Parliament of the Open Vld party, is frequently cited in the Flemish press. He succeeds Patrick Dewael, also of the Open Vld, who in turn replaces Herman Van Rompuy, who became Prime Minister, as Leader of the House in Parliament. Guido De Padt was born in Geraardsbergen on May 23, 1954. He studied law and was formerly a lawyer, beginning his political career in 1982 as a provincial advisor in eastern Flanders, and vice-mayor of Geraardsbergen. From 1994 to 2000, he was a member of the regional parliament and from 2001 to 2006 was mayor of Geraardsbergen. Following the communal elections of 2006, he lost his mayoral position to the sp.a party. He then became vice-mayor in charge of culture, tourism, libraries, archives and patrimony, as well as president of the CPAS. De Padt has been a member of the federal Parliament since ¶2003. He has been most active in issues relating to road safety, mobility, public enterprises, police and public safety. He has pushed for a (service minimum dans les services publiques). He is one of the "champions" of parliamentary questions. In the legislative session from 2003-07, he introduced 743 questions for the record. Since November 2007, he has alreay submitted an additional 571, roughly one per day, on average. He often also provides press communiques regarding his questions, thus keeping himself in the media spotlight. Post adds that De Padt is from the same region as immigration minister Turtelboom and is from the same party, which may improve the government's ability to coordinate policies on matters that touch both ministries. ¶7. Post will provide biographic information on Steven Van Ackere at a later date. Van Ackere is also an economist, and is from the Brussels region, and also reportedly has good contacts with Belgium's francophone community. BUSH .