Split over UN migration pact leaves Belgium with minority govt
The deal is expected to be ratified at UN headquarters in New York on December 19
Brussels — Belgium’s Prime Minister Charles Michel is now at the helm of a minority government after the Flemish nationalist party on Sunday quit the ruling coalition over his support of a UN migration pact widely opposed by anti-immigrant populists. The New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), the largest of the coalition’s four parties, had earlier threatened to leave if Michel backed the accord, which has become a cause celebre for right-wing parties across Europe. Belgium’s King Philippe accepted the resignations of the N-VA’s ministers on Sunday after meeting with Michel at the royal palace, according to a statement. Michel also presented the king with the list of replacements for the departing N-VA ministers in the interior, finance, defence and migration portfolios. With the departure of the Flemish party, Michel lacks a parliamentary majority with five months to go before legislative elections scheduled for late May. “I regret that it has come to this,” Michel told the RTL-TVI televisio...
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