It will be sad, but it is still a record. Belgium without a government turned one year old yesterday and, it's no joke, entered the Guinness Book of Records. The crisis began on 13 June 2010, when for the first time in the history of the country the separatist party N-Va won the majority of votes among the Flemish-speaking population. Representatives of the main parties still seem far from finding a solution. It is probable that there will be a return to the polls after the summer. For now, exploratory mandates continue to follow one another unsuccessfully in search of an institutional agreement that seems increasingly unlikely. According to outgoing premier Yves Leterme, however, "the unity of Belgium is not a danger" and new elections would be "a serious political failure". Paradoxically, last year's consultation had been brought forward precisely to form once and for all a stable executive capable of resolving the community problems that divide Northern and Southern Belgium, the Dutch-speaking Flemings and the French-speaking Walloons.
West-info.eu
