Brussels marks 600 days of political paralysis as government crisis deepens
The Brussels-Capital Region has officially surpassed 600 days without a functioning government following the elections of June 9, 2024. This unprecedented institutional vacuum has halted public spending and paralyzed aid for the city's most vulnerable populations, including refugees and the homeless.
The political deadlock in the administrative heart of the EU and NATO signals a collapse of the traditional Belgian "culture of compromise." In the absence of a unified regional project, the city’s infrastructure is crumbling under the weight of stalled projects and budgetary neglect.
The iconic Schuman roundabout, situated directly in front of the European Commission, remains a sprawling construction site. Without a central authority to approve cost overruns, parts of the European Quarter increasingly resemble an abandoned zone, scarred by nearly two years of unfinished works.
With 604 days of "autopilot" governance, Brussels has shattered the previous federal record of 541 days. What was once dismissed as a local political quirk has evolved into a severe institutional crisis, fueled by friction between Francophone parties and the Flemish nationalists led by Prime Minister Bart De Wever.
For international observers, the stakes extend beyond local administration. As a federated region with equal status to Flanders and Wallonia, the Brussels government holds autonomous power over the territory housing the world's primary Euro-Atlantic institutions.
Security officials are now sounding the alarm. The lack of permanent authority is being felt in districts where drug-related violence and poverty are surging. On Thursday, a 50-year-old man was killed in a shooting in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, the city's poorest municipality, located just steps from the city center.
Unlike Switzerland’s stable multi-linguistic balance, Belgium’s political landscape is strictly divided along linguistic lines. Every major political family—Liberal, Socialist, Christian-Democrat—is split into two separate parties, making coalition-building in the capital an exercise in extreme complexity.
The Region is now on the verge of setting a dubious world record for the longest political stalemate in history. It has already surpassed the 589-day vacuum seen in Northern Ireland in 2017 and the 541-day federal Belgian crisis of 2010.
While Belgian administrative structures like the tax office and police can function mechanically during a power vacuum, the financial strain is reaching a breaking point. Without a formal budget, social programs and critical infrastructure remain frozen in a state of terminal provisionality.
As the local saying goes among Brussels residents: "If you think you understand Belgium, it hasn't been properly explained to you." Yet, for those living in the shadows of the EU headquarters, the joke has long since lost its humor.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
