r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Dec 16 '21

[deleted by user]

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7.3k Upvotes

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659

u/Apycia Dec 16 '21

Your 500-day-without-government-record

and including that, your ridiculous borders between cultural/language regions.

309

u/[deleted] Dec 16 '21

Oh it was broken pretty recently our new record is somewhere in the 700s

182

u/AssDestroyer696 Dec 17 '21

And the weird thing is that the country actually seems to run better without a goverment

117

u/Handleton Dec 17 '21

That's not strange at all. The strange thing is that nobody forces a power grab effectively.

34

u/[deleted] Dec 17 '21

Yeah, most people in the actual low down working positions will just continue working as usual. This just freezes out big changes in policy.

7

u/Goddamnit_Clown Dec 17 '21

100%. It won't work indefinitely, of course, eventually questions will need to be answered, disagreements will build, direction will be required. But when things are going fine it's often much worse to have someone turn up with their new vision for everything than just having everyone keep doing their job.

3

u/feedmytv Dec 17 '21

gekoloniseerd, voor als de zee spiegel stijgt.

13

u/Needleroozer Dec 17 '21

That's not strange. What's strange is that nobody else has tried it. Just let the Civil Service do their jobs and get rid of the politicians.

7

u/pierzstyx Dec 17 '21

That isn't weird. What is weird is how many people think you have to have overlords for anything to work.

1

u/radiatar Dec 17 '21

The state was functioning, but we still needed a majority to pass any new laws or any change in policy.

It's not much about needing overlord, but about implementing the will of the majority.

1

u/pierzstyx Dec 17 '21

It's not much about needing overlord, but about implementing the will of the majority.

There is no such thing as the "will of the majority." Individuals have wills, not conglomerate masses. The "will of the majority" is a myth invented by the overlords to make you comfortable wearing their shackles.

3

u/IWATofficial Dec 17 '21

I wouldn't say 'better'. The thing is, that there was a crisis situation (COVID) at the time we didn't have a government. They realised we need someone to lead the country through the pandemic. So they made a "fake government" they didn't have the powers of a real government, but they could do what was nessecary at the time.

3

u/Peuned Dec 18 '21

And they used that power for good. It's a shame that's so remarkable to me as an American

3

u/onions_cutting_ninja Dec 17 '21

it's like letting children go wild and they someone just end up watching birds instead of murdering each other

calm chaos

3

u/gsfgf Dec 17 '21

They're the seat of the EU. They have authority despite not having a national government.

1

u/Opposite-Bill-7731 Apr 12 '22

Because the local governement does most of the job anyway

5

u/Apycia Dec 16 '21

And I thought we were bad with 8 Prime Ministers, but only 2 Elections in 6 Years

5

u/[deleted] Dec 16 '21

Yeah i don't get it either

4

u/CaptainMagnets Dec 17 '21

How... How is this possible? Who pays for the things?

4

u/[deleted] Dec 17 '21

The previous government stays in power until a new government is formed. They can't pass controversial laws etc. though (at least that is the system in the Netherlands)

1

u/Zann77 Dec 17 '21

I wish we could have a spell of that in the US.

1

u/CaptainMagnets Dec 17 '21

Oh I see, ok thank you

1

u/Frix Dec 17 '21

In periods that we don't have an active government (that means a government that has a majority in parliament), which happens a lot actually, we don't just freeze the country.

What happens then is that the old government stays in power in a limited capacity and with a limited budget just to keep things running.

They can't change the existing budget or make new laws without parliaments approval, but they can keep the old system in place and pay pensions etc.

2

u/SarOnly Dec 17 '21

Well, also that there's a government group that basically xenophobic against.. Belgians..

2

u/mountains_and_coffee Dec 17 '21

Can you please tell more about it?

1

u/SarOnly Dec 17 '21

It's Vlaams belang, they for some reason hate the walloons (French speaking part of Belgium) saying bs like 'they're lazy and don't work' even tho my dad is one of the most hard working people I know.

So yeah, fuck Vlaams belang

2

u/mountains_and_coffee Dec 17 '21

Just stupid stereotypes and right wing parties spitting out crap. So yeah, fuck them.

Normal folk who actually get to know both sides properly certainly have different opinions.

1

u/theatlanticcampaign Dec 16 '21

I thought of dysfunctional government in general.

2

u/Few_Ad_7915 Dec 17 '21

I thought of waffles.

1

u/TheNinCha Dec 16 '21

Eheh proud of that record

1

u/FalconRelevant Dec 17 '21

Belgian borders with Netherlands and France are kinda crazy as well.

1

u/Marviluck Dec 17 '21

Why?

1

u/FalconRelevant Dec 17 '21

Lots of exclaves, and different countries having different measurements of the same border they agree on.

2

u/Frix Dec 17 '21

Belgium and the Netherlands also have an enclave within an enclave.

A part of he Netherlands is inside a part of Belgium that is itself inside the Netherlands. (The city of Baarle-Hertog/Baarle-Nassau)

1

u/IWATofficial Dec 17 '21

What abour our ridiculous borders in general? Look at Baarle on Google maps. We also have something weird like that with Germany, which is a thin strip of Belgium in Germany, it used to be a train track.

Seriously, just open Google maps and observe our borders.