2 October 2020: Update on The Corona Pandemic – Belgium agrees on government nearly two years after previous one fell.

2 October 2020: Update on The Corona Pandemic – After a wait of 493 days since the last federal election, Belgium has a new government and a new prime minister: Alexander De Croo (Flemish liberal). De Croo will spearhead a coalition of 7 parties (the Flemish and Francophone liberals, the Flemish and Francophone socialists, the Flemish and French greens and the Flemish Christian democrats) in steering our countrythrough the aftershocks of the pandemic. Ideologically these parties have very little in common and many people are saying that the main motivation to unite the seven parties was the desire to avoid new elections and by doing so avoiding that the extreme right and extreme left would further gain ground. The work that awaits this patchwork political project is immense. The impact of the coronavirus has been huge; we just crossed the 10,000-death mark and the economy has been shattered. The long period since the previous government fell and the long time the negotiations lasted, resulted in many people turning their backs to politics. Therefore, the biggest challenge of all for the government will be to restore faith and confidence in the leadership of our country. Let’s hope they succeed and that the screeching policy zigzags we’ve experienced since the start of the pandemic are brought to a grinding halt. Today’s picture of downtown Ghent I took yesterday in between two rain showers and two videocalls… Ghent, Belgium