Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever offers resignation to King Philippe after €10 billion budget talks collapse

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever offered his resignation to King Philippe on Monday, November 2, after weeks of talks inside his five-party coalition failed to produce a budget. The king has not accepted it. The Royal Palace said he will meet the leaders of the coalition parties from Tuesday and receive De Wever again on Friday, November 6, before deciding whether the government survives.

The row is about money: roughly €10 billion in spending cuts and tax increases that De Wever says Belgium needs to bring its public finances under control. His own Flemish nationalist N-VA and the French-speaking liberals of MR wanted the savings to come mainly from spending. Their three partners wanted part of the bill paid by people with the most money. Neither side moved far enough.

Where the coalition split

De Wever's government is known in Belgium as the "Arizona" coalition, after the colours of its parties, which together resemble the US state flag. It took office in February 2025 after months of negotiations following the June 2024 election, and brings together Dutch-speaking and French-speaking parties of the right and centre-left.

Party	Language community	Position in the budget talks
N-VA (De Wever's party)	Dutch-speaking	Against new taxes on wealth and high incomes
MR	French-speaking	Against new taxes on wealth and high incomes
Vooruit	Dutch-speaking	Wanted a larger contribution from the "strongest shoulders"
CD&V	Dutch-speaking	Backed higher taxes on top earners and wealth
Les Engagés	French-speaking	Backed higher taxes on top earners and wealth

According to reports from the talks, Vooruit, CD&V and Les Engagés asked for between €1 billion and €1.5 billion of the total to be raised through extra taxes on high earners and on wealth. N-VA and MR refused. The gap was small compared with the size of the package, but it went to the heart of what each party promised its voters.

What the palace said

The palace statement was unusually direct. It said Belgium "cannot afford a prolonged political crisis", expressed disappointment that no agreement on a credible budget had been reached, and called on every party to put the common good first and show a willingness to compromise.

That wording matters. Under Belgian practice the king does not have to accept a prime minister's resignation straight away. Holding it "in consideration" gives the parties a few more days to find a deal while the government stays in office with full powers. If talks move forward this week, De Wever can return to the palace on Friday and simply carry on.

The deadline that makes this urgent

Belgium needs a budget for 2027 by December 31. If none is voted through, the federal state switches to "provisional twelfths": each month it may spend only one-twelfth of the previous year's budget. Salaries and pensions are still paid, but new policies, investments and planned savings are frozen.

There is pressure from the EU as well. Belgium has one of the larger budget deficits in the euro area and has been under the European Union's excessive deficit procedure since 2024, which requires a credible plan to bring the shortfall back towards 3% of economic output. A government without a budget makes that plan hard to deliver, and could unsettle the bond markets that finance Belgium's public debt of more than 100% of GDP.

This has happened before — almost

Last year the same coalition hit the same wall. In autumn 2025 talks on finding about €10 billion in savings broke down, and De Wever went to the palace. That time he did not formally resign; he was given extra time to negotiate, and the parties reached an agreement weeks later. This time he has gone a step further by putting his resignation on the table, which raises the stakes for his partners.

What the king can do next

King Philippe has three broad options once he has heard the party leaders:

• Refuse the resignation if the coalition shows it can still agree a budget. De Wever stays on and talks resume.
• Accept it and look for another majority in the current parliament. Given how fragmented the Belgian chamber is, any alternative coalition would be hard to build quickly.
• Accept it and open the way to early elections. The government would then stay on in a caretaker role, handling only current affairs, while campaigning begins.

What it means for people in Belgium

For now, nothing changes in daily life: the government remains in office and public services, benefits and wages continue. The bigger questions are about next year — whether planned cuts to spending, pension changes and tax measures go ahead, and whether the state enters 2027 running on monthly emergency budgets.

The consultations with party leaders begin on Tuesday, November 3. De Wever is due back at the palace on Friday, November 6, when the king is expected to say whether he accepts the resignation.