BELGIUM: KING ASKS FORMER PM MARTENS TO SMOOTH PATH

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 001579

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE PASS EUR/WE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL BE
SUBJECT: BELGIUM: KING ASKS FORMER PM MARTENS TO SMOOTH PATH
TO NEW LETERME GOVERNMENT

BRUSSELS 00001579 001.2 OF 002


REFERENCE A: BRUSSELS 1521 B: BRUSSELS 1498

SUMMARY
--------------


1. (SBU) After current Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van
Rompuy was selected on November 19 as the first permanent
President of the European Council, King Albert asked Minister
of State and former PM Wilfried Martens to come back from
retirement to serve as a "mediator" between the five parties
that make up the current coalition government. The King hopes
Martens can smooth the path for the expected return of Yves
Leterme, who was PM from March through December 2008, to the
PM's office from his current post of Foreign Minister. All
indications are that the Flemish Christian Democrat (CD&V)
Leterme will be the next Prime Minister. The King and the
current government seek the coalition parties' agreement to
work together through the upcoming Belgian European Union (EU)
Presidency (July - December 2010). Martens will also seek an
agreement between the parties on a proposal for discussing and
ultimately resolving two long-simmering issues that prevented
Leterme from forming a government for almost a year after his
electoral success in June 2007: Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde
(BHV),which has to do with the rights of the French and
Dutch-speaking language communities, and devolution, which
involves determining which responsibilities currently with the
federal government will next be given to the regions. End
Summary.

Martens the Mediator
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2. (SBU) The King tasked former PM and Minister of State
Wilfried Martens with his mediation mission following the
November 19 EU Council decision to name Belgium's Flemish
Christian Democrat (CD&V) Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy EU
Council President. Martens (also CD&V) was asked to help
craft a political agreement on a way forward on the so-called
"institutional issues," namely BHV and devolution, between the
governing parties that would help pave the way to an easy
transition to a new government to be led by fellow CD&V member
Yves Leterme, currently Foreign Minister and PM immediately
before Van Rompuy. Martens met with the party and government
leaders over the weekend of November 21-22 and submitted a
draft proposal to the presidents of the majority parties on
November 23. He was expected to submit the proposal to the
King on November 24. If everything goes according to plan,
Van Rompuy will officially resign his position and Yves
Leterme will be sworn in as PM later the week of November 23,
according to well-placed CD&V sources.


3. (SBU) Martens is charged only with finding a working plan
and process for dealing with BHV, not an actual solution,
which is sensible, given that the BHV problem has existed
since 1963. According to the press, the five coalition
parties agree that this festering issue should be dealt with
before Belgium assumes the EU presidency during the second
half of 2010. Leterme's first government fell in July 2008
when he was finally unable to solve BHV by his self-imposed
July 2008 deadline. Martens' report to the King is to contain
results of his discussions between current PM Van Rompuy, FM
Leterme, the five vice premiers, and the majority party
presidents. Though an agreement on BHV during the firins, the Francopho party, it QJuly until December2007, Leterme
engineered a vote of the Flemish representatives in Parliament
to split BHV, which was unanimously opposed by all French MPs.
In December 2007, the King asked the previous PM Guy
Verhofstadt to lead an interim government until Leterme was
able to negotiate his own government. Leterme finally became
PM in March 2008, but offered his resignation in July 2008
when the Flemish Nationalist N-VA broke its alliance with the
CD&V because of its failure to reach a solution acceptable to

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the N-VA on BHV and devolution. The King did not accept his
resignation and the Leterme government carried on until
December 2008, when allegations in the press of judicial
interference related to the sale of Belgium's largest bank
Fortis caused the collapse of his government. Herman Van
Rompuy then took over as PM, and Leterme came back as FM in a
July 2008 Cabinet reshuffle. That period was the longest
drawn out political crisis in Belgium's political history,
which is saying something. Leterme, PM Van Rompuy, and the
King, all want assurances that the majority party leaders are
willing to negotiate on institutional issues in the coming
months.


6. (SBU) While there has been some speculation in the press
about some shuffling of ministerial positions, CD&V party
president Marianne Thyssen has already made it clear that the
party will not give up the foreign affairs portfolio,
especially given Belgium's upcoming EU presidency. Vice
Premier and Public Enterprise Minister Steven Vanackere, who
has no known foreign policy experience, is the only candidate
the CD&V has suggested for the post.

Comment
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7. (SBU) While the coalition parties have said nothing to
show that a compromise on BHV is in the offing, neither have
they made any hard-line statements that would make discussions
on that long-standing problem a non-starter. The King, the
mediator Martens, and the presumed-PM-to be Leterme would all
like to create as stable a political environment as is
possible before and during the Belgian EU presidency.
Therefore, it is very important that government party leaders
refrain from saying anything that would kill the prospect of a
negotiated deal, which could immediately throw a new Leterme
government into another crisis. Whether the coalition
partners can maintain that discipline is another question
altogether.

GUTMAN