21.   The austere socialist minister of industry?

22.   The fate of Socialist minister Louis Tobback hung in the balance since King Albert II still had not made a decision whether to accept his resignation.

23.   The law excludes seven other prominent Socialists, including Gramoz Ruci, a former Socialist interior minister who is now general secretary of the Socialist Party.

24.   The officials recently told the judge in the case they were involved in the groups and implicated a former Socialist interior minister in the affair.

25.   The probe uncovered a bribery scandal that led to the resignation of four Socialist cabinet ministers.

26.   The scandal has claimed the jobs of four Socialist ministers.

27.   The Socialist minister had announced his plans to resign on Thursday but was asked by the center-left coalition government to reconsider his decision until Saturday.

28.   Two Socialist ministers resigned in January after their government was implicated in tolerating illegal grain exports that caused shortages and an increase in bread prices.

29.   Former socialist minister Georgina Dufoix appeared in a special court here on Tuesday to be charged with poisoning in connection with a scandal involving AIDS-tainted blood.

30.   Four Socialist ministers have resigned, including former foreign minister Frank Vandenbroucke.