BRUSSELS (Thomson Financial) - The Belgian parliament voted Sunday to back the newly formed interim government in Brussels after a marathon all-day sitting.
The confidence vote for the temporary government of Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt will give Belgian political parties more time to forge a longer-term coalition.
Belgian lawmakers backed by 97 to 46 the new three-month interim government, whose formation earlier this week ended six months of political stalemate paralysing the divided European state.
One deputy abstained from voting.
The endorsement by no means solves long-standing differences between parties from Belgium's richer Dutch-speaking Flanders region and those from poorer francophone Wallonia, who are battling over Flemish demands for larger regional autonomy among other matters.
Flemish deputies said they would continue to press for such reforms.
Verhofstadt unveiled his new, emergency government Friday and called on the Flemish and Walloons to end their 'mutual mistrust' that has plagued the country's political system.
Belgium had been on course for setting a new European record in early January for the longest period without a formal government, topping the Netherlands' best of 208 days in 1977.
The main sticking point is the devolution of federal powers to the regions. Parties in Flanders are keen on assuming more powers while those in the poorer southern region of Wallonia fear both political and economic losses.
A member of Flemish Liberal party, Verhofstadt managed to keep a lid on the simmering tensions since 1999, until his party lost to the centre-right Flemish Christian Democrats in June 10 elections.
He has excluded extending his mandate beyond its March 23 expiration, after which he is expected to cede power to the Christian Democrats' Yves Leterme. tf.TFN-Europe_newsdesk@thomson.com afp/ak COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.