King Baudouin directed a mediator to form a new government after rival parties Friday broke a three-month-old stalemate and agreed to reassemble their coalition with a slim majority in Parliament.
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The mediator, Jean-Luc Dehaene, is expected to head the coalition government, ending the 13-year term of fellow Dutch-speaking Christian Democrat Wilfried Martens, Europe's longest-serving prime minister.The Socialists and Christian Democrats, which also composed the outgoing coalition, voted to form a new government. Each party has French- and Dutch-speaking factions.