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Belgians Press Politicians to Form Government

BRUSSELS — Defying the normal conventions of protest politics, more than 30,000 Belgians rallied here on Sunday not to try to get rid of a government, but to press their squabbling politicians to form one.

The demonstration, which students began on the Internet and labeled “Shame,” was the first clear sign of popular frustration at the country’s protracted political crisis and its worrying effect on financial markets.

More than seven months after elections produced political deadlock, the impasse has increased speculation that Belgium, which is divided between Dutch speakers in the north and French speakers in the south, might ultimately split.

The country recently achieved the dubious distinction of becoming the European nation to go for the longest time in recent history without a government, overtaking a record set in the Netherlands in 1977. A tongue-in-cheek Web site now counts down to the moment when it calculates that Belgium would take the world record, held by Iraq.

For months, the crisis had relatively little effect on life in this country of about 10 million people, where much power and most everyday services are already administered at the regional level.

Lately, however, the financial markets have begun to make the country pay for the failings of its political leaders by increasing borrowing costs. With the euro in the throes of a debt crisis, the intransigence of Belgium’s politicians has begun to take on a more serious complexion.

About 34,000 people attended the march through central Brussels on Sunday, according to Christian De Coninck, a spokesman for the Brussels police, who said the event was trouble-free as of midafternoon.

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Bart de Wever’s Flemish nationalist party emerged triumphant in the north in June elections.Credit...Thierry Roge/Reuters

In elections in June, Bart de Wever’s Flemish nationalist party emerged triumphant in the northern part of the country, and Socialists won in French-speaking Wallonia. Under the Belgian system, people vote for a different set of parties depending on where they live.

At the time, Mr. de Wever said that it was too soon for independence for Flanders — a status he favors — but since then all efforts to form a coalition have foundered.

The issue at the heart of the negotiation has proved intractable because Flemish nationalists are pushing for a new constitutional settlement to give the regions more power over issues like the economy.

In Flanders, which is the more prosperous part of the country, many voters want to limit transfers of cash to subsidize Wallonia.

Historically, French language and culture were dominant in Belgium, and Dutch speakers once suffered discrimination, a fact that scarred relations between the country’s two main communities.

Mr. de Wever has little incentive to compromise over his demands for a new constitutional arrangement and is in a win-win situation, according to Lieven de Winter, professor of politics at the Université Catholique de Louvain.

“He either gets a breakthrough in institutional reform or a breakdown of negotiations where he can say that Belgium doesn’t work anymore,” Mr. de Winter said. “That is a very comfortable position to be in.”

Fresh elections could actually make things worse if a divisive campaign led to entrenched positions, analysts say.

“You would come back with the same people and the same issues on the table,” Mr. de Winter said, “but after everyone has spent months insulting each other.”

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section A, Page 4 of the New York edition with the headline: Belgians Take to the Streets to Protest the Government (a Lack of One, That Is). Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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