Letter from the Benelux

The Belgian political system, complex and almost incomprehensible to the average person, survives, but at what cost? In 2010-2011, it produced the longest political crisis in contemporary history, with 541 days without a fully functioning federal government. In February, it saw Bart De Wever, until then the leader of a pro-independence party (N-VA), become the prime minister of a country whose breakup he had previously advocated.

This time, it is the Brussels-Capital Region and its 19 individual municipalities that have been experiencing a strange situation – "the worst of politics," as a political scientist tells us. Since the regional elections on June 9, 2024, the heart of the kingdom has been without a government and seems destined for a lasting deadlock, forcing the former ministerial team to manage day-to-day affairs.

The delay all boils down to the presence of the N-VA in the next government... despite it holding only two out of the 89 seats in the capital's regional assembly. This issue has divided negotiators and completely paralyzed the region, exacerbating its budgetary difficulties, preventing any decision-making, and depriving various social and cultural organizations of their subsidies, prompting them to call for help.

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