Belgium calls on ex-PM to broker new govt

Belgium has turned to a veteran politician to broker a new government after a scandal over the botched bail-out of the Fortis bank forced the ruling coalition to resign.

King Albert II accepted the government’s resignation after three days of negotiations with Belgium’s political leaders failed to keep the coalition intact.

In a bid to avoid early elections, he asked former premier Wilfried Martens, an eight-time prime minister who led coalition governments during the 1980s, to act as a go-between to broker a new coalition.