This article is more than 6 months old

This article is more than 6 months old

After 15 months of stalemate over forming a government, Belgium’s warring political parties have agreed to hand special powers to fight coronavirus to a minority administration led by the current caretaker prime minister, Sophie Wilmès.

Wilmès saw King Philippe on Monday, who officially nominated her to form a government – the first time a woman has been given the task in Belgium’s 190-year history. The federal parliament is expected to approve the deal in a confidence vote on Thursday.

Announcing the breakthrough, Wilmès tweeted that her governmental team appreciated the great responsibility conferred on it. “The sense of duty drives us. The wish to work in the interest of all Belgians equally. This great union [Belgium] is equal to the challenges of the moment.”

Sophie Wilmès (@Sophie_Wilmes) L’équipe gouvernementale en place mesure la grande responsabilité que lui confère l’accord de ce soir. Le sens du devoir nous anime. La volonté de travailler dans l’intérêt de tous les Belges également. Cette grande union est à la hauteur des enjeux du moment. #Coronavirus #Begov

Wilmès, Belgium’s first female prime minister, has been leading a caretaker administration since last October, after the previous government collapsed in December 2018.

After hours of talks over the weekend, Belgium’s political parties agreed to put aside differences that have stymied the creation of a fully fledged government since federal elections last May.

The Wilmès government, composed of two liberal and one Christian Democratic party, will now be supported by seven other parties across the political spectrum, save the far right and far left.

These parties have agreed to award the government special powers to sidestep the normal legislative process in order to deal with the impact of coronavirus on Belgium’s health system and economy. The special powers will last three months and can be renewed once only for up to a further three months.

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The deal emerged late on Sunday, after hours of multi-party talks that nearly collapsed when the French-speaking Socialist Party – the largest party in Belgium’s Francophone region of Wallonia – said it could not enter an emergency government with Flemish separatists.

In May 2019 elections, Flanders shifted to the right, while Wallonia moved left, a division that has blocked the creation of a fully fledged federal government until now.

Bart De Wever, president of the Flemish nationalist NVA, the largest party in Flanders, told local media he was disappointed there was no emergency government.

In 2011 Belgium set a world record of 589 days without a government. Until the coronavirus crisis, it appeared on course to beat that tally, as political scientists warned that that progress was even slower than in 2010-11.

The global pandemic, which has led to 1,058 cases and five deaths in Belgium as of Monday, forced a rethink. Last week Wilmès announced the closure of schools, kindergartens, bars and restaurants, and a ban on weekend shopping, excluding supermarkets and pharmacies.

• This article was amended on 18 March 2020 to add the name of the party which had said it could not enter an emergency government with Flemish separatists.