Political situation in Belgium

Belgium's prime minister resigns after election fiasco

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo is stepping down from his post after his Open VLD party backed down in the national election, which was held at the same time as the EU election on Sunday.

- For us it was a particularly difficult evening. We lost. As of tomorrow, I will be an outgoing prime minister, a tearful de Croo said after the vigil.

Open VLD received 5.7 percent of the vote according to the final polling station survey, a loss of 2.8 percent compared to the 2019 election. Party leader Tom Ongena also states that he will resign.

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Soaps inspire in spurts - cooking and arguing on TV

Reality soaps have inspired the run-up to the elections both here and elsewhere in Europe. In Belgium, political rivals have turned their backs on "The Bachelor" and holed up in a medieval castle for a weekend to see if they can put their differences aside and find a way to unite the divided country. The politicians in the TV series "The Conclave" go for walks, cook and argue, writes The New York Times.

At one point, far-right separatist party Vlaams Belang party leader Tom Van Grieken sits alone by a fireplace late at night. Bart De Wever, party leader of Flanders' second major separatist party, NV-A, steps out and notes that everyone else seems to have gone to bed.

- They don't want to spend time with us, Bart. Your destiny is that you always end up with me in the end, Van Grieken replies.

In Malta, the centre-left Labor party has in turn taken inspiration from "Big brother". Before the EU elections, the party's nine candidates were locked in a hotel room for a weekend, something that was then broadcast to the television viewers. Why? To show the more human side of the candidates.

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Top politician tore up his ballot paper: "Wrong glasses"

Belgian top politician Elio Di Rupo had a mishap when he voted in his hometown of Mons on Sunday, reports the public service company RTBF.

Di Rupo, who is the top name of the French-speaking Socialist Party, accidentally put the wrong ballot in the envelope and asked for a new one.

- I put on the wrong glasses, and there are many candidates, so I made a mistake, says Di Rupo, who tore up the incorrect ballot.