The region's finances are horrible. In December, estimates were that this year's deficit would grow to 2.46 billion (!) on a budget of just 6.3 billion. The debt rate? A whopping 265 (!) percent. www.bruzz.be/actua/politi...

Even worse, some parts of the Brussels region have been gripped by spiralling drug-related violence. "Like an episode of the Wire", POLITICO's Hanne Cokelaere wrote in February www.politico.eu/article/brus...

So, what's holding politicians back? Well, Brussels is peak Belgium. The region is bilingual (with a majority of Francophones), and its Parliament has both Dutch—and French-speaking elected politicians. A government needs a majority in both (!) language groups.

Shouldn't be so difficult, right? It is. The Dutch-speaking majority included N-VA, a Flemish separatist party. The French socialists of PS, who were part of the French-speaking majority, rejected that.

But — the Dutch-speaking liberals of Open VLD don't want to go into a government without the separatist N-VA (which has been bloodsucking the Open VLD). The coalition talks collapsed several times. www.politico.eu/article/coal...

Everyone agrees there's an urgent need for a government, nobody knows how to get there. There are creative solutions: the N-VA was offered a government commissioner (a rank lower than minister) to make their government participation more digestible.

Last week, the PS floated the idea of supporting only the installation of a government, but then the government would have to seek a majority in Parliament for every policy issue.

Nothing is off the table, not even putting the region under the guardianship of Belgium's federal government. www.knack.be/nieuws/belgi...