Van Rompuy leaves hole in Belgian politics

Article reports that the delight that most Belgians felt at seeing their Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy elevated to the Presidency of the European Council on the 19 November 2009 was laced with concerns over what his departure from the Belgian political scene might mean for their own fragile union.

On the 25 November 2009 the former Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme was nominated to take office for a second time. Mr Leterme's previous period as PM was marked by political instability and fears that Belgium might break apart.

ESO: Background information: Van Rompuy closes in on EU presidency http://www.europeansources.info/record/van-rompuy-takes-eu-presidency/

ESO: Background information: Belgium seeks to close crises ahead of EU spell http://www.europeansources.info/record/belgium-seeks-to-close-crises-ahead-of-eu-spell/

BBC News, 25.11.09: Former PM of Belgium Yves Leterme to take office again http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8378236.stm

EurActiv, 25.11.09: Leterme replaces Van Rompuy as Belgian PM http://www.euractiv.com/future-eu/leterme-replaces-van-rompuy-belg-news-222930

France24, 25.11.09: Leterme becomes PM for second time http://www.france24.com/en/20091125-leterme-pm-european-union-van-rompuy-belgium

Deutsche Welle, 25.11.09: Leterme gets second chance to lead Belgium http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4928129,00.html

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