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Belgian government formation crisis, 2010–2011
A 541-day deadlock between Flemish and francophone parties over further state reform set a world record for the longest period without an elected government in peacetime.
What happened
Following the federal election of 13 June 2010, in which N-VA became the largest party in Flanders and the Socialist Party the largest in French-speaking Belgium, disagreements over further state reform and social-economic policy prevented a governing coalition from forming.[1]
The resulting 541-day deadlock set a world record for the longest period an elected democracy had gone without a government in peacetime, surpassing Iraq's 249-day record set earlier the same year; a government led by Elio Di Rupo was finally sworn in on 5 December 2011.[2]
Sources for this page
Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.
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1.
Claim: Following the federal election of 13 June 2010, in which the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) became the largest party in Flanders and the Socialist Party the largest in French-speaking Belgium, disagreements over further state reform and social-economic policy prevented a governing coalition from forming for 541 days.
- 2010–2011 Belgian government formation (Wikipedia) link, lead and background sections. Source record
- Belgium breaks own record for longest period without government (The Brussels Times) link, article text. Source record
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2.
Claim: The 541-day formation period set a world record for the longest time a country had gone without an elected government in peacetime, surpassing the previous record of 249 days set by Iraq in 2010; a government led by Elio Di Rupo was sworn in on 5 December 2011.
- 2010–2011 Belgian government formation (Wikipedia) link, Record section. Source record