of Belgian territory were only liberated in February 1945. On 8 September 1944, the government in exile returned to Brussels and was greeted with general indifference. Although the King was no longer in the country, his Political Testament was presented to the returned Government as he had wished, and was soon circulated publicly. At the same time, a copy was presented to the British king, George VI, and was seen by the Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden. The text reignited the divisions within the Government which had been largely hidden since earlier in the war. Since the King was still in German custody, there was no opposition to the creation of a regency in his absence. On 20 September 1944, a meeting of both Chambers of Parliament was called. Article 82 of the Constitution was invoked, declaring the King "unable to reign" (dans l'impossibilité de régner). Leopold's reclusive brother, Prince Charles, Count of Flanders, was elected regent and took the oath the following day. Further action on the royal question was pushed aside by more pressing economic and political issues that occupied most of the Government's time. With Belgium under partial Allied military administration until the restoration of the government services, British hostility to Leopold's return also complicated the issue. Political recovery and revival of the royal question Soon after the liberation, Belgium began a period of rapid economic recovery and the process of political reconstruction began. The traditional party system had been torn apart by the war and occupation. The two major ideological blocks proceeded to create their own parties: socialists created the Belgian Socialist Party (PSB–BSP), while Catholics and conservatives created the Christian Social Party (PSC–CVP). The biggest change in early post-liberation politics was the surge of support for the Communist Party of Belgium, which became the third party in Belgian politics until 1949, temporarily displacing the Liberal Party. The Walloon Movement also re-emerged after the war, promoting the culture and economic interests of the French-speaking areas in the south. The period saw major reform of trade unions following the creation of the first large unified union, the General Labour Federation of Belgium (Fédération générale du Travail de Belgique or Algemeen Belgisch Vakverbond, FGTB–ABVV), in April 1945 with 248,000 members nationwide. By 1947, however, the political structure of the Belgian state had stabilised. Under the early regency, both the Pierlot and subsequent Achille Van Acker governments attempted to avoid