244 Days Without A Government

Le Record du Monde - Het Wereld Record

Charles De Gaulle famously quipped "How can anyone govern a nation that has two hundred and forty-six different kinds of cheese". Belgium does not have that many cheeses, but it does have more than 700 beers and access to all the French cheese one could ask for. In my book, that makes Belgium even less governable than France and given that we are now 244 days without a government (see link above) and counting, I think Charles was right. . In other parts of the world, this would have led to sustained rioting and general chaos, but in Belgium, everyone pretty much just gets on with it. Different groups have suggested protests of everything from not shaving to not having sex until the governmental issues are resolved. This is kind of a far cry from flipping cars over and firebombing police lines like you might see in other regions with unstable governments. Quality of life is good enough that it probably doesn't make sense to make too many waves. The real issues are with the extremist national factions split down linguistic and cultural lines. Like in the US, the radical fringe may make everyone nervous, but the middle really dictates how far left or right the government actually goes. For us, the garbage is still being picked up, the police are still in force and nothing at all seems that unusual.

Which brings me to cheese. As I mentioned above, Belgium has access to a huge variety of cheeses from France and the surrounding areas. Unlike in the US, it is possible to get live cheese here. Unpasteurized and fully an entity to itself. In the US, the FDA has decided that Americans are too stupid to make the determination of whether they should take the risk of eating unpasteurized cheese. This is why cheese food products like Cheez Whiz and Kraft American Cheese actually sell. You cant want what you've never had. I have been telling anyone who would listen that French cheese is better for years. I would have brought suitcases of it home to prove my point if it wasnt for those damn beagles at Dulles airport. Now that we live in Europe, gooey, stinky, wonderful cheeses are an almost nightly ocurrance. The variety is really amazing and it is easy to get. There are fromagerie all over the place and great cheeses are also available in bread shops, groceries and the weekly markets. Obviously there are great cheeses in the US. Sharp Cheddar for example. But they really don't compare to a Reblechon, or Brie de Meaux made with raw, unpasteurized milk.

So, given the choice between a Belgian government or 700 beers and wonderful cheese, I'll take the beer and cheese.

After I wrote this blog, I found this http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/05/business/05cheese.html?_r=2&ref=dining Ugh.