Belgian Premier Resigns but King Won’t Accept It
BRUSSELS — Premier Wilfried Martens resigned today after his coalition splintered over the handling of a May soccer riot in which 38 people died, but King Baudouin refused to accept it.
“The government thus continues,” Martens told reporters. He said he expects that general elections, which had been scheduled for Dec. 8, will be moved up to a date in October.
He said he will explain the situation to Parliament on Wednesday.
The crisis was triggered Monday by the announcement of Deputy Premier Jean Gol that he was resigning because the government would not accept any blame for the May 29 riot at the European Cup final between English and Italian teams in Brussels. The five remaining conservative ministers from the Liberal Reformers party later said they would resign in sympathy with Gol.
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