BRUSSELS, July 16 (UPI) -- Belgium's King Albert II is weighing whether to accept the resignation of Prime Minister Yves Leterme, who took office four months ago, officials say.
Leterme, a 47-year-old Flemish Christian Democrat, submitted his resignation Tuesday after he was unable to get the nation's French- and Dutch-speaking blocs to agree on constitutional changes, The International Herald Tribune reported Wednesday. Belgium had been without a permanent prime minister for nine months before he took office in March.
His proposed constitutional changes included giving more economic power to the country's regions.
It wasn't certain whether the king would let Leterme leave immediately, ask him to postpone his departure or call for new elections, the Herald Tribune reported.
"I think we can talk of a crisis, that's obvious," Finance Minister Didier Reynders, who could be tabbed to replace Leterme, told the Belgian broadcaster RTBF. "When the prime minister resigns, even if it is suspended, then there is a crisis."
Belgian newspapers blamed the country's French-speaking leaders for the crisis, Flandersnews.be/Expatia said. It reported the leading Flemish daily Het Nieuwsblad ran a headline in French saying, "Walloon friends, that's enough," while the Christian Democrat paper claimed Francophones "are trying the patience of every straight-thinking person."
