Belgian ex-premier meets party chiefs as hunt begins for new PM

(BRUSSELS) - Belgian ex-premier Wilfried Martens met party leaders Saturday as he began a royal commission to organise a smooth political transition after current PM Herman Van Rompuy was named as EU president.

King Albert II tapped up Martens on Friday to help find the next PM without causing the kind of political crises which had beset Belgium before Van Rompuy took the reins of a coalition government less than a year ago.

That became necessary after EU leaders on Thursday chose Van Rompuy to become the European Union's first president, a post he is set to take up within weeks.

Martens was due Saturday to meet the leaders of the major parties, his spokesman said. The ex-PM was also to hold talks with Van Rompuy who must assume his role by January 1.

"The king has charged Mr Martens with the mission of assisting a quick and efficient transition," the royal palace said in a statement, after the monarch held talks with Martens Friday.

Martens, 72, was given a similar mission almost exactly a year ago to try to find a solution to the political crisis which held up the formation of a permanent government for almost a year.

A Flemish Christian Democrat who served as prime minister almost without interruption from 1979 to 1992, Martens was also considered a candidate to take back the post he held so long again last year.

On Friday, Belgium widely feted Van Rompuy's EU nomination.

But the joy was tempered by fears his departure would hurt Belgian politics, perennially in turmoil over tensions between the Dutch-speaking Flemish community to the north and the poorer francophone region in the south.

Van Rompuy had been engaged in very tricky negotiations on the rights of the francophone minority in Flemish suburbs of Brussels, a focal point for the communal differences which Martens will try to address.

The larger picture is that leaders in the richer Flanders region are seeking more autonomy, something the southerners in Wallonia oppose.

His predecessor Yves Leterme is well-placed to return to power but had a pretty torrid term last time.

Leterme lasted less than a year in power, forced to quit last December amid a banking bailout scandal. During his short tenure he also struggled with the

Flemish-francophone problem.

Martens was not scheduled to meet up with Leterme on Saturday. As is usual in such cases he was instead to talk with Marianne Thyssen, president of the Flemish Christian Democrat party of which both Martens and Leterme are members.

He was also to meet francophone leaders such as Joelle Milquet of the CDH (Humanist Democratic Centre).