Belgium ? Belgium reached a record of 149 days without an acting government Tuesday, and slumped closer to a collapse of coalition talks between the country’s French- and Dutch-speaking politicians.

The stalemate and the growing support of Flemish nationalist parties has sparked widespread talk of a possible breakup of the kingdom that is split into Dutch-speaking Flanders in the north and Francophone Wallonia in the south.

After five months of deadlock, Flemish parties are threatening to hold a parliamentary vote today on one of the central disputes of the crisis: the fate of Francophone voters who live just outside of Brussels, in areas that are in Flemish territory but have a significant French-speaking population.

In addition to the voting rights, the current dispute centers on a drive by economically strong Flanders for more powers for the regions, in part to reduce the flow of Flemish tax revenues to poorer Wallonia.