Belgium sets new political crisis record

Belgium’s political crisis reached another dubious milestone on Tuesday, equalling Iraq’s world record of the longest period without a government 289 days after legislative elections.

Politicians from Dutch-speaking Flanders and French-speaking Wallonia have been deadlocked since June 13 elections over Flemish demands for greater autonomy in the linguistically-divided country.

It took Iraqi Kurds and Shiite and Sunni Muslims 249 days to reach a political pact late last year and 40 more days to form a government.

Belgians held tongue-in-cheek protests on February 17, marking the 249-day milestone with a “chips revolution” across the country that brought thousands of people onto the streets.

New events were planned to mark 289-day record, with the group “Separatism: No in our name” renaming every main square in the cities of Brussels, Antwerp, Namur, Liege and Ghent “Chips Square.”