Last-ditch mission to break deadlock

"Why the king wants Reynders to intercede!" headlines La Libre Belgique. In the wake of the failure of a string of mediators, conciliators and and arbitrators, Albert II has decided to see if the Francophone liberals — who have until now been excluded from negotiations on the formation of a government — can break the deadlock. Starting on 2 February, their leader Didier Reynders will head up a mission to see if there is sufficient “political will for an agreement on the country’s institutions” — an issue which has proved to be the main obstacle in previous attempts to reach a negotiated settlement. "We have come to a point where it is time to give the liberal parties a turn, and if they do not reach agreement, there will be no other option but to call for elections, which may be marked by a further increase in the Flemish nationalist vote," writes La Librein an editorial entitled “Good Luck.”