Belgium has a new prime minister, one who long tried to gut the nation and seek regional autonomy

BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgium has a new prime minister whose political purpose was long to break up the nation, gut the state structures and give ever more autonomy to his northern Flanders at the cost of everyone else.

Bart De Wever took the oath early Monday, looking straight at King Philippe, the latest monarch of a royal house he so long had little but disdain for because it symbolized the old concept of Belgian unity.

“I swear allegiance to the king,” he said.

It was another indication how times change, and bold demands for Flemish independence have made room for the hope of gradual change and finding a renewed balance between Dutch-speaking Flanders, with 6.7 million people, francophone Wallonia, with 3.7 million, and multilingual Brussels, with 1.2 million.

The prime minister and leading ministers took the oath in Dutch and French while several others on the 15-member team from both sides of the linguistic divide stuck to their own language during a short ceremony at the Royal Palace.

“You can ... not take part in a government and wait until the system can be taken as a whole. I never believed in that,” he told De Standaard newspaper. “The other option is to take part when you can, and obtain things for your community, and that is what we did."

“When you don't take part, you are certainly left emptyhanded,” he added.

Language issues are woven throughout the past century, as the French-dominated nation gradually made way for a balanced political scene while Wallonia's industrial prowess waned and Flanders' economic power rose.

De Wever of the Flemish nationalist N-VA party succeeds Alexander De Croo, who has remained in office as a caretaker since the June elections last year. De Wever will join his fellow European Union leaders at a summit in Brussels later Monday.

“We will have a government that will clean up the budget, implement a fair social policy, reward work, implement the strictest migration policy ever, abolish the nuclear phase-out, and invest in safety,” N-VA said in a statement.

One issue immediately stood out — gender balance. When De Croo had achieved quasi parity between men and women on his team, De Wever only has three women on his team of 15, and none among the four vice premiers. He has said he regrets it, but never made it a key point in the coalition talks.

De Wever brought an eclectic mix of five parties together to break a 7-month deadlock in coalition talks. The Flemish nationalist was only given a shot at successfully brokering a coalition because the PS socialists, De Wever's political nemesis, lost their generations-long grip on Wallonia. It allowed him to get a deal with a free-market MR party.

In Flanders, the Vooruit socialist party will have to make sure the cornerstones of Belgium's welfare society survive. The government program is set to cut social benefits in an attempt to tackle the nation’s debt-burdened budget. Overall, the nation has debt totaling just over 100% of GDP, putting it among the worst in the 27-nation EU.

With Vooruit on board, the francophone MR liberals, the centrist CD&V and Engages and the N-VA complete the coalition, controlling 81 of 150 seats in the House for a comfortable majority.

The length of coalition talks highlighted however how difficult it was to bridge fundamental gaps between the different parties.

Belgium's new Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden, rear, walks down the steps to join a group photo after a swearing in ceremony for the new government in front of Belgium's King Philippe at the Royal Palace in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

New Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, left, raises his hand to take an oath during a swearing in ceremony for the new government in front of Belgium's King Philippe at the Royal Palace in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Belgium's King Philippe, center front, and new Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, front center left, pose with ministers for a group photo after a swearing in ceremony for the new government at the Royal Palace in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

New Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, center front, stands with other mininster prior to a group photo after a swearing in ceremony for the new government in front of Belgium's King Philippe at the Royal Palace in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Belgium's King Philippe, center, shakes hands with Belgium's new Interior Minister Bernard Quintin during a swearing in ceremony for the new government at the Royal Palace in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Belgium's King Philippe, center front, and new Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, front center left, pose with ministers after a swearing in ceremony for the new government at the Royal Palace in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Government ministers stand in a line prior to a swearing in ceremony for the new Belgian government in front of Belgium's King Philippe at the Royal Palace in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Belgium's King Philippe, center front, and new Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, front center left, walk with ministers after a swearing in ceremony for the new government at the Royal Palace in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

New Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, left, walks with Belgium's King Philippe, center, during a swearing in ceremony for the new government at the Royal Palace in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

New Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, left, raises his hand to take an oath during a swearing in ceremony for the new government in front of Belgium's King Philippe at the Royal Palace in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Belgium's King Philippe, center front, and new Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, front center left, pose with ministers after a swearing in ceremony for the new government at the Royal Palace in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka has captured her second consecutive Brisbane International title, and 22nd overall, with a straight sets victory over Marta Kostyuk on Sunday.

It was the third year in a row Sabalanka appeared in the final and the Belorussian player looked in comfortable surroundings as she closed out a 6-4, 6-3 victory in just 1 hour and 17 minutes at Pat Rafter Arena.

The Brisbane International is a tuneup event for this year’s Australian Open, which begins Jan. 18.

Kostyuk went hard early by attacking Sabalenka’s second serve, clawing back an early break with sublime drop shots that briefly rattled the world's top-ranked player.

However, the Belorussian’s relentless intensity and match-smarts proved decisive as she exploited the oppressive Brisbane humidity with punishing baseline rallies to clinch the opening set in 40 minutes.

As Kostyuk wilted under the physical strain, Sabalenka accelerated in the second set.

With a mix of raking groundstrokes and deceptive drop shots, she forced a mounting error count from the Ukrainian to close out the match without dropping a set all week.

After sealing the victory, Sabalenka looked down the court at Kostyuk and kissed both biceps - a likely nod to previous comments by the Ukranian that she possessed higher testosterone levels than other players.

Kostyuk has said the comments made in an interview last year had been taken out of context, but further the tensions between the pair since the Ukranian's refusal to shake Sabalenka's hand after a match at the French Open in 2023.

The exchange resulted in a frosty post-match presentation. During the trophy ceremony, Kostyuk spoke passionately about her homeland but notably declined to mention Sabalenka by name.

“I want to say a few words about Ukraine,” Kostyuk said. “I play every day with a pain in my heart. There are thousands of people who are without light and warm water right now, it’s minus 20 degrees outside right now, so it’s very, very painful to live this reality every day.

"I was incredibly moved and happy to see so many Ukrainian fans and flags here this week … Slava Ukraini.”

Sabalenka, meanwhile, congratulated Kostyuk, stating she hoped they would meet in another final soon. She also took a cheeky dig at her boyfriend Georgios Frangulis during her victory speech.

“Hopefully soon I will call you somehow else,” Sabalenka said looking at Frangulis in the player's box. “That just put extra pressure, right?”

Later Sunday, top-seeded Daniil Medvedev played Brandon Nakashima in the final of the men’s tournament at Brisbane.

The former No. 1-ranked Medvedev is seeking his 22nd career title, while it will be Nakashima’s first ATP Tour final in four years.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus poses with the winners trophy after winning the women's final match against Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-4, 6-3, at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, right, hugs her support team after winning the women's final match against Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-4, 6-3, at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine reacts after missing a shot during the women's final match against Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus plays a shot during the women's final match against Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus waves to the crowd after winning the women's final match against Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-4, 6-3, at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)