Belgian Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès is positive about the progress of discussions to form a new federal government, she said on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the Flemish centrist CD&V party announced that it was willing to sit around the table with the liberals, socialists and ecologists. New talks took place on Thursday, according to several sources, while Egbert Lachaert, who was appointed by the King, is due to visit the Palace on Friday.
Wilmès said that she had never made a secret of her wish to see a fully-fledged government with a majority in the House. The confidence placed in her interim government is due to expire on 17 September, a deadline that may seem too short to set up a new coalition.
"We must never prejudge what will happen. Two weeks is short, but it can be an eternity in politics," said Wilmès.
The Brussels Times
