Belgian King Philippe accepts Prime Minister De Croo's resignation

The outgoing Belgian prime minister suffered a heavy blow in the elections on Sunday.

Transcript

00:00 Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Kruyf has visited King Felipe at the Royal Palace

00:06 to announce the resignation of his government.

00:10 The king must now consult political figures and begin the procedure for forming a new

00:15 federal government.

00:17 De Kruyf`s resignation follows his party, the open Flemish liberals and democrats, crushing

00:23 defeat in Belgium`s regional, national and EU elections on Sunday.

00:30 The right-wing New Flemish Alliance party emerged as the biggest winner at the national

00:34 level with nearly 20 percent of the vote.

00:38 While the far-right anti-immigration Vlaams Belang party came in second position with

00:43 a vote share of 17.5 percent.

00:47 De Kruyf`s party meanwhile received less than 7 percent of the vote, leaving it lagging

00:52 well behind the far-left.

00:55 But speaking after the results, Prime Minister De Kruyf remained positive about the future

00:59 of his party.

01:00 Dear friends, we liberals, we are combative and we are valuable.

01:09 And I am convinced that we will rise again.

01:14 I have seen an incredible amount of young talent in the past few weeks and I am very

01:22 hopeful about that.

01:23 We, dear friends, we will rise again.

01:27 Dear friends, we will be back.

01:29 Stronger than ever.

01:31 Thank you.

01:32 De Kruyf`s visit to the palace will be followed by a meeting with the presidents of the House

01:36 and Senate.

01:38 Consultations will then begin with a first series of party presidents.

01:41 presidents.

01:42 [SWOOSH]