Four-month-old Belgian government on the verge of collapse

Brussels - Belgium's four-month-old government was on the verge of collapse Monday after it failed to meet a self-imposed deadline for resolving a year-long power struggle between the country's Dutch- and French- speaking communities.

Prime Minister Yves Leterme was forced to skip a European Union meeting in Paris on Sunday to address the crisis, but few analysts expected him to come up with a solution by Tuesday's deadline.

Leterme's request to be given more time has met with opposition from his own Christian Democrat party and of its Flemish coalition partner, the NV-A, newspaper De Standaard reported.

The government, which is backed by a coalition ranging from conservatives to liberals from both sides of the language divide, as well as the Francophone Socialist Party, was formed in March, nine months after the staging of a general election - the longest political crisis in Belgian history.

Officials representing Belgium's 6.5 million Dutch-speakers and its 4 million Francophones both want more power for their communities.

The composition of the multilingual voting districts of Brussels and its surroundings is a major point of disagreement, media reports said.

Leterme had vowed to reach an agreement on the country's constitutional reform by July 15.

The premier was due to inform parliament about the crisis on Tuesday.

Latest opinion polls show that his government has suffered a 6.6- per-cent drop in popularity since the June 2007 elections. (dpa)

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