By STEPHEN CASTLEPublished: March 21, 2008
BRUSSELS — Belgium finally got a new government on Thursday, after a nine-month political crisis that prompted speculation that the country might split, but many voters say that the new five-party coalition may be too weak to last.
Yves Leterme, leader of the Flemish Christian Democrats and the winner of elections last June, was sworn in as prime minister by King Albert II.
After the elections, warring Flemish and French-speaking parties were not able to agree on a coalition government. The dispute was so acrimonious that it prompted fears that Belgium, formed in 1830, might divide along linguistic lines.
Although those concerns have subsided for the time being, polls indicated that confidence in the new coalition was extremely low even before it took office.
One recent opinion poll of a representative sample of 1,027 people commissioned by the broadcasters RTL and VTM found that almost two out of three of those surveyed thought the government would fall within the next three years.
After the elections, Mr. Leterme, 47, tried to form a government but failed after the collapse of complex negotiations. In desperation, the king turned in December to the departing Flemish prime minister, Guy Verhofstadt, to lead a caretaker administration....(Click here for remainder of article)
