Belgium's King Albert has accepted the government's offer to resign.
A statement from the palace issued this afternoon said the King accepted the resignation of the government and asked it to stay on in a caretaker capacity.
Prime Minister Yves Leterme tendered his government's resignation on Friday after a report by the Supreme Court found signs of political meddling to sway a court ruling on the future of Fortis bank, a victim of the credit crunch.
Mr Leterme has ruled out a return to office, leaving the five coalition parties scrambling to find a successor.
Jean-Luc Dehaene, who led Belgium from 1992-1999, is emerging as the most likely candidate to head an interim government until June 2009, when parliamentary elections could be held to coincide with planned regional and EU votes.
The new leader would have plenty on his plate.
Belgium, host to NATO and the European Union, is expected to slide into recession this quarter and urgently needs to enact a €2bn recovery package and a deal on wages, as well as find a solution to the Fortis debacle.
Fortis investors, whose shares have dropped to around €1 from almost €30 in April 2007, have successfully challenged the group's state-led break-up and asset sale to France's BNP Paribas and argue now that the deals should be renegotiated.
Belgium has lurched from crisis to crisis since the June 2007 general election, mostly due to Leterme's failure to broker a deal between Dutch-speaking parties that want more powers for Flanders and French speakers who fear such a move would pull Belgium apart.
Previous crises sparked media speculation that the 178-year-old nation could break in two. The devolution issue is set to flare up again, especially approaching June elections.
