BRUSSELS: Belgium is famous for legendarily long coalition negotiations but for the past year – in a novel twist – it’s the capital Brussels that has been stuck without a government, with no breakthrough in sight. From opening a new emergency-room ward to launching an art show, projects big and small have been in limbo since elections on June 9 last year ushered in a full year of political paralysis. “Our beautiful capital, Europe’s capital, should be a crossroads not a dead-end,” Belgium’s King Philippe lamented earlier this year as the deadlock dragged on. But the sovereign’s call for politicians to find “paths of convergence” – and a way forward for the Brussels- Capital region and its 1.2 million residents – have yet to bear fruit. The impact is being felt across all areas of society, from health to business to the arts and protection of the environment, all of which rely to some degree on funding from the Brussels region. At the CHU Saint-Pierre hospital complex in the city centre, at least two key construction projects are on hold pending a green light from the region, explained its chief executive Christophe Soil. One is the renovation of the hospital pharmacy, to improve production methods for medicines and bring them into line with the latest standards.
Plans to expand the Saint-Pierre mental health emergency ward are also blocked, despite what the Gibbis health network calls a “glaring need” for more capacity, especially for young people. – ‘Thinking twice’ – The scenario is nothing unheard of in Belgium where at the national level coalition discussions once ran an eye-popping 541 days, back in 2010-2011. But still, in Brussels, patience is running out. “We have no visibility on how and when we will be able to get the work done,” complained Soil, saying the uncertainty was a source of
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