Thread: Belgium govermentless for longest time in modern history

I don't know how long "modern" goes for, but the Belgium's have not had an official government now since June 13th 2010 (366 days to be exact). And according to the article, it could go on until 2014 (the next election). This is longer then the time it took Iraq to form a government in 2009 and Cambodia in 2003. They still have a caretaker PM and cabinet, so it isn't like they are completely without a government, Though the article (I'll quote) states that they have limited powers.

I found this a bit funny:

Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme resigned in April last year, but he is still turning up for work.

In fact, by mid-August he will have been a caretaker prime minister for longer than he was an elected leader with a mandate to govern.

There is very little legal underpinning for a long-term caretaker government in the Belgian constitution.

The general understanding is that officials can take urgently needed action, or continue implementing the policies of the previous government.

The big question is whether this caretaker government will embark on the long-term reform of public finances that most parties agree is necessary, in order to start slashing Belgium's massive debt - the third highest in the EU.

BBC News - Belgium goes a year from elections without government

So, if you ever thought our government was terrible at getting things done, and getting along, well I think Belgium has beat us there...

yeah, it kind of messed me up from getting a job there. With no government, they cannot approve a new SOFA agreement with the USA, so I could not hire on with a contractor there last year.

Odd.....and interesting.

I wonder what happened. As in, is this by design? Was there some sort of opposition going on, and the only effective way to curtail it was to handcuff everyone? There has to be a reason that the PM decided to insure the status-quo for a couple of years, even if it rendered him impotent as well (snicker). He keeps showing up for work, so there has to be a decent reason he decided to limit his own power.

It isn't by design, as far as I can tell the issue is the parties involved hate each other enough they won't try to work together to get a government set up and running. I don't know Belgium's procedures, but I know at least in England (and a couple other places iirc) either one party has to hold a certain number of seats in parliament or create a coalition that gets to those seats to have a government (I believe the former is a Majority government, and the latter a Minority government, but 100% on that). Of course they also have it set up so if no government is formed within...I think it is 6 months? new elections are held.

I'm not 100% on this either, but I do believe until a new government is in place, the old PM is still in power (likely for the same thing, to keep things running and make the important decisions).

Originally Posted by Gumby

yeah, it kind of messed me up from getting a job there. With no government, they cannot approve a new SOFA agreement with the USA, so I could not hire on with a contractor there last year.

Hell, Gumby, why didn't you tell me sooner? I just sold a sofa on Craigslist...

Looks like thay are doing something right, maybe we should take the hint.

In 2010 Belgian GDP grew by 2.1%, the unemployment rate fell slightly, and the government reduced the budget deficit, which had worsened in 2008 and 2009 because of large-scale bail-outs in the financial sector. Belgium's budget deficit decreased from 6% of GDP to 4.8% in 2010, while public debt was just under 100% of GDP.

Belgium Economy Profile 2011