Belgians protest 7-month political crisis

Tens of thousands of Belgians have protested against a prolonged political impasse gripping the country since parliamentary elections last June.

The protesters gathered in the Belgian capital Brussels on Sunday, calling on both Dutch and French-speaking politicians to hasten their efforts in establishing a new coalition government seven months after the country’s parliamentary elections failed to produce an outright victory, a Press TV correspondent reported.

Between 20,000 and 30,000 people answered a Facebook call by a group of university students, who say they are getting weary of the prolonged political stalemate in the linguistically diverse country.

The demonstrators chanted “What do we want? We want a government,” urging their politicians to steer clear of differences and move expeditiously to form a new government.

Belgian politicians have been at loggerhead to thrash out a deal between the six million Dutch-speaking Flemings, who want more autonomy for their region and the French speaking Walloon, who advocate for a limited decentralization in economic and social spheres.

The long-lasting differences between the two communities continue as Belgium entered its 224th day without a viable government.

Even though a caretaker cabinet runs the country, Belgian business leaders have warned against the continuation of the political limbo, which marks a record period of political deadlock in post-war Europe.

Flemish separatists in north fared better than their rivals on June 13 parliamentary elections.

According to official figures, the Dutch-speaking New Flemish Alliance, which seeks the gradual dissolution of Belgium, achieved 27 of the 150 parliamentary seats, up 19 from the 2007 elections.