BRUSSELS, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- The search was on for a new Belgian prime minister Tuesday after Yves Leterme resigned in the wake of a bank bailout scandal, observers said.
Belgium's King Albert II accepted Leterme's resignation Monday and is having interviews for would-be successors at his castle in suburban Brussels, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Political observers said the front-runners to succeed Leterme mostly include members of his Christian Democrat Party, which hails from Dutch-speaking northern Belgium. Among those candidates is former Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene. The king told Leterme Monday that he would like to announce the new prime minister this week, the newspaper said.
Leterme, 48, offered to resign Friday after Belgium's supreme court accused the government of attempting to influence a court case involving the bailout of Belgian-Dutch banking giant Fortis NV.
