00:01Belgium's Prime Minister Barthes de Wafer was at the Royal Palace on Monday morning
00:06to offer his government's resignation to King Philippe following failed overnight budget talks.
00:11Following a meeting that lasted one and a half hours,
00:15the King announced he was considering the Prime Minister's resignation
00:17and will meet with other coalition parties on Tuesday before deciding whether to accept it.
00:23De Wafer's coalition has been locked in protracted coalition talks to agree a federal budget for next year.
00:30With the government seeking 10 billion euros in savings by 2029 to reduce the country's high deficit.
00:36The government's right-wing parties want to clamp down on public spending,
00:41while the centrists and socialists propose increasing taxes on higher incomes and a VAT hike.
00:47A similar budget impasse also occurred last year when De Wafer received a 50-day extension to reach an agreement.
00:55The latest government crisis takes place under pressure from trade unions,
00:59which have been mobilizing for months against austerity measures,
01:02while protests have brought tens of thousands of people into the streets.
