At a meeting at the Royal Palace on Monday afternoon King Filip told the man currently leading the talks on the formation of a new Federal Government, Bart De Wever (Flemish nationalist), that he has another 3 days to successfully conclude his mission.
Mr De Wever arrived at the Royal Palace just before 2pm for what was his first meeting with Belgium’s Head of State since last month. On Sunday evening and Sunday night the 5 parties involved in the federal coalition talks failed to reach agreement on a revised version of a document on socio-economic policy that had been drafted by Mr De Wever.
On Monday afternoon the Flemish nationalist leader brought the Belgian monarch up to speed on the progress that he has made so far. However, given the failiure to reach an agreement on Sunday night, Mr De Wever's mission has not yet been completed.
After a meeting lasting more than an hour, the King decided to prolong Mr De Wever’s mission by a further 3 days. He is will meet with the King again at the Palace on Thursday afternoon.