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No government? Protestors do a striptease!

A number of protestors took to the streets of Belgium and stripped down to their underwear to mark what they are treating as a world record on Thursday -- 249 days without a government.

Politicians have been unable to form a coalition since elections on 13 June 2010.

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No government? Protestors do a striptease!

The group of about 50, mostly students, stripped to their underwear in the northern city of Ghent and stood to form the word "unity" after leaders of 6 million Dutch-speakers were pitted against those of 4.5 million French speakers.

No government? Protestors do a striptease!

More than 1,000 people in the French-speaking town of Louvain-la-Neuve, carried the colours of the Belgian flag and formed the words Een-Un -- One is One -- in Dutch and French.

They called for more unity instead of the infighting, sniping and backbiting that has made it impossible to form a national government.

No government? Protestors do a striptease!

There's an expression in Dutch to be naked and meaning to make a fool of oneself," the Telegraph quoted co-organiser Jouwe Vanhoutteghem, a masters student at Ghent University, as saying.

"Nothing has happened, the politicians have negotiated for 249 days and it is still a stalemate so they are making fools of themselves," Vanhoutteghem stated.

No government? Protestors do a striptease!

There's an expression in Flemish to be naked and meaning to make a fool of oneself...the politicians have negotiated for 249 days and it is still a stalemate so they are making fools of themselves," said one of the organisers.

It is arguable whether 249 really is the world record, as Iraq took 249 days to get the outlines of a government agreement last year, but the approval of that government took a further 40 days.