2010–2011 Belgian government formation

Following the Belgian general election held on 13 June 2010, a process of cabinet formation started in Belgium. The election produced a very fragmented political landscape, with 11 parties elected to the Chamber of Representatives, none of which won more than 20% of the seats. The separatist New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), the largest party in Flanders and the country as a whole, controlled 27 of 150 seats in the lower chamber. The Francophone Socialist Party (PS), the largest in Wallonia, controlled 26 seats. Cabinet negotiations continued for a long time. On 1 June 2011, Belgium matched the record for time taken to form a new democratic government after an election, at 353 days, held until then by Cambodia in 2003–2004. On 11 October 2011, the final agreement for institutional reform was presented to the media. A government coalition was named on 5 December 2011 and sworn in after a total of 541 days of negotiations and formation on 6 December 2011, and 589 days without an elected government with Elio Di Rupo named Prime Minister of the Di Rupo I Government.

Tensions had risen between the Flemish and the Walloons: Flanders accuses the Walloon region of being dependent on economic subsidies from the Flemish region; there is also reluctance by the Walloons to learn Dutch. The Walloon population accuses the Flemish of being segregationist with the language policy in the Flemish region.

The most recent election was fought mainly on the failure to resolve the conflict over the electoral arrondissement of Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde. The conflict centered on political and linguistic differences in the arrondissement, with the Flemish desiring to split the arrondissement into two separate areas, while the Walloons wish to keep it together.

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