The World - News from May 1, 1988

Negotiators from five Belgian parties concluded a coalition agreement, clearing the way for a center-left government more than four months after general elections. It remains unclear whether the government will be headed by Jean-Luc Dehaene, who has been mediating in the negotiations, or Wilfried Martens, prime minister for six years. Both are Christian Democrats. The accord brings the Socialist parties from both French-speaking Wallonia and Dutch-speaking Flanders back into government, along with the two Christian Democratic parties and a Flemish regionalist party, the Volksunie.