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.

Flemish nationalist Bart De Wever has been sworn in as the country's new prime minister following months of painstaking negotiations to form a coalition that moves the country further to the right. The agreement struck on Friday makes De Wever the first nationalist from the Dutch-speaking Flanders region to lead the country.

Conservative Bart De Wever was sworn in Monday as Belgium's new prime minister after seven months of tortuous negotiations to reach a coalition deal that shifts the country to the right. De Wever has pledged to crack down on irregular migration and has pushed for cuts in social benefits and pension reforms.

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.