On Friday , Yves Leterme formally resigned his entire government, standing down for the fourth time since his triumphant success in the elections of June 2007. Then, he garnered 800,000 personal preference votes - a magnificent total, but not enough to enable him to govern.

His resignation at the weekend came after he was accused by the senior magistrate in the country of bringing pressure to bear on judges in an ongoing case in which the government is involved - the decision to suspend the sale of bank-insurer Fortis to French-owned BNP Paribas. Leterme admitted "contacts" but denied interference. The judiciary claimed otherwise, and justice minister Jo Vandeurzen resigned under the shadow. After an unseemly hesitation, Leterme followed.

To get a picture of just how much of a poisoned chalice the premiership of Belgium has become, one only has to look at the queue of people lining up to decline the honour (at least in the current circumstances). Yves Leterme has let it be known he is not in the running - only in Belgium would the man who caused the collapse, and who has been accused of the most blatant breach of constitutional propriety, find it necessary to expressly state he was not a candidate for his own succession. Also not interested: Herman Van Rompuy, a highly respected figure who combines gravitas and experience; Didier Reynders, the MR finance minister whose whole career has been a progress towards the top job; and Flemish minister-president Kris Peeters, Leterme's successor in that job, now busy with intercommunal dialogue.

The choice of a prime minister is only one of the questions now facing the political establishment. They also must decide whether the new government is the same as the old one. So far, only Leterme and justice minister Jo Vandeurzen are stepping aside, although others have been damaged by the whole Fortis affair. Other names have been linked to the affair, and will be scrutinised by the parliamentary committee now to be set up.

Another issue is how long should the new government govern? Open VLD is adamant it should end in June 2009, largely because they are confident of reaping the benefits in the regional and European elections scheduled for then. CD&V, meanwhile, thinks the government should carry on to the end of its term in 2011. It may have no choice: according to experts federal elections are impossible until the constitutional problem of the electoral district Brussels-Hal-Vilvoorde is resolved.

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