A series of dormant drug -related shootings in the heart of the city that houses the EU institutions show that the Brussels They are bankrupt, plagued by violence and crime and is in a serious political impasse.

Only the first 1.5 months of 2025 have been noted 11 shooting incidentswho claimed the life of two people and injured four others. Such attacks would be unthinkable a few years ago. Today, they show that this is a decline that needs a strong political leadership. And the Brussels do not have itas Politico says in his analysis.

Belgium’s labyrinthine political structure includes a multilevel system of governance, each with its own powers and often with internal disputes.

When they work, things are good, but when they do not work, paralysis is caused.

And in Brussels, 9 months after the electionpoliticians still disagree without plans to form a government on the horizon.

And it’s not just the coordination to combat crime in Brussels exposed by political chaos. The construction of social houses and large infrastructure projects is also in danger of being delayed.

At the same time, subsidies – such as charities, NGOs and cultural projects – have frozen. At the same time, the financing of social welfare centers, police and local authorities is covered by uncertainty.

And in all of this, the public debt accumulates almost so fast as well as the rubbish bags On the dirty roads.

‘The survival of Brussels, as a city, is at stake’, Central MP Christof de Bouquet said.

The scandal of 4m euros a day

Far from tourist Grand-Place, cute chocolates and fancy beer shops, the city of Brussels is in Lip of the cliff.

If the city had a government to put in control of Brussels’ spending would be The number 1 challenge.

The debt of the Belgian capital exceeds 14 billion euros, without calculating the 1.6 billion euros that is expected to be added to it this year.

The Bruges Belgian newspaper calculated that the deficit – the difference between how much it spends and how much the city receives – is increasing by 4 million euro every day.

De Bouquet, who tried to reboot the negotiations For the Coalition last month, he commented on what is happening. All these months after the election, politicians have not even managed to speak in substance, he told Politico.

“It’s just a political pose that blocked Brussels. You’re my friend. You’re not. I want to work with you. But not with you. It is immature, ” He says himself.

Capital liability

Excessively complex political architecture is confusing and Frustration even to the Belgians themselves.

In simple words, Brussels is one of the three regions of Belgium, along with the French -speaking mall in the south and the Dutch -speaking Flanders in the north, which surrounds the city. All three regions have their own governments with responsibilities on issues such as housing, transport and economic policy.

With Belgium struggling to respond to spending cuts imposed by the EU, Brussels’ debt is a “obligation for the whole country,” said Dave Sinah, Professor of Political Science at the Free University of Brussels.

And things can get worse: the region’s credit rating could be degraded by the summer, which would make the borrowing more expensive, further increasing the area’s debt, warned Budget Minister Sven Gatz.

Sinai explained that this could at least create some pressure to finally form a government. Others are less optimistic.

The Central Les Engagés party has proposed to cut the wages of Brussels policies by 30% until a government was formed and 40% if no government has been formed by June.

French vs. Dutch = deadlock

At the moment, even a minority government seems doubtful, as it will still need the approval of the parliamentary majority to start a job and for any decision that will be taken.

Although it would not be the ideal shape for the Brussels challenges, “a minority government would be better equipped than not to have a government,” De Bouquet said.

How did the city get to this point? While the Dutch -speaking people are more than French -speaking in the whole country, the reverse applies to Brussels. Thus, in order to ensure the representation of the Dutch -speakers, the Brussels government must consist of a majority of both linguistic groups. On both sides, a set of parties must agree to cooperate between him before concluding a comprehensive coalition agreement.

After the June elections, an agreement on the French -speaking side was relatively simple. The center -right MR became the largest French -speaking Brussels party and quickly cut an agreement with the Socialist Party and the Les Engagés.

On the other side of the linguistic divide, the Flemish Greens won the Dutch-speaking votes and in November reached an agreement with the socialist Vooruit, the liberal Open VLD and the Flemish-nationalist N-VA, the party of the new Prime Minister Bargi.

However, the French -speaking socialists refused to rule with the Flemish nationalists. The Open VLD liberals in turn refused to rule without the Flemish.

The French -speaking “fool themselves” if they think they can solve the problems of Brussels without working with the Flemish nationalists leading the federal government, said Open Vld’s leader Frederick De Gucht.

Ahmed Lauz, the president of the Socialist Party in Brussels, in a video on Instagram posted last week, called Flemish nationalists “Autonomous, anti-brryl and anti-colonial party“And he said that if they participated in a Brussels government they would show”contempt for the Brussels region and city interests“

It seems that no side recedes.

By pressing the ‘nuclear button’

While Belgium is divided into three regions, the same Brussels are divided into 19 municipalities. And everyone has their own mayor and they manage the six police forces in the area.

As crime and violence rise rapidly, the Federal Government of Belgium has stated that it wants to merge these separate forces into a single entity. Naturally, Brussels politicians have shaken this decision.

They argue that the real problem with the police is not its elaborate organization, but the lack of national funding and that a merger involves the risk of alienating the police from the Brussels citizens.

Mr Giorgi-Leice Buszen’s party president has raised the threat that Brussels, if not cooked, could be put under the control of the federal government. This would be equivalent to pressing the nuclear button, while analysts stress that it is impossible to happen.

From a legal point of view, the idea is “fiction”, according to analysts. Theoretically, the federal government could apply some System similar to what EU did in Greeceforcing the city to make reforms in return to enter a rescue program, Sinadet said.

The conclusion is that sooner or later, the chaos of Brussels will force someone to act, but it does not still seem to be. “I am ashamed of the political circus”comments De Bouquet.