Brussels — Belgium’s Prime Minister Charles Michel is now at the helm of a minority government after the Flemish nationalist party on Sunday quit the ruling coalition over his support of a UN migration pact widely opposed by anti-immigrant populists. Belgium Interior Minister Jan Jambon of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) confirmed on Sunday (9/12/2018) that he, along with the party’s other ministers would resign over disagreement with Prime minister Charles Michel over signature of Global Comapact on migration in Marrakesh, Morocco, at UN-led conference scheduled for Monday, December 10. With the departure of the Flemish party, Michel lacks a parliamentary majority with five months to go before legislative elections scheduled for late May. Alexander De Croo, one of the deputy prime ministers, will become finance minister, Pieter De Crem, a former defence minister, becomes interior minister, while foreign minister Didier Reynders will add defence to his portfolio

The right-wing N-VA, which is the biggest party in parliament, pulled its ministers from the coalition after Michel refused its demand that he not sign the U.N. migration compact in Marrakesh on Monday, in a move critics see as an opening shot in the election campaign. Party leader Bart De Wever issued Michel an ultimatum on Saturday night, suggesting that the N-VA would quit the coalition if the prime minister flew to a UN conference in Marrakesh on Sunday to endorse the migration pact. The N-VA on Saturday formally broke ranks over the U.N. migration compact, an international agreement the Belgian parliament, minus the N-VA and far-right Vlaams Belang, has committed to signing but that has attracted strong criticism from right and far-right parties across Europe.
Prime Minister Charles Michel says that the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) party quits the coalition. N-VA cites its disagreement over the signing of the United Nations Global Compact for Migration. Michel plans to continue with a minority cabinet until the next scheduled election.