Iraq sets record for days without government

It’s been 208 days since Iraqis voted in parliamentary elections, and those elected have yet to form a government.

After weeks of vote counting and allegations of fraud on all sides, the results of the March 7 elections had the country’s two top parties separated by only two seats in the 325-seat parliament. Since then Ayad Allawi and Nouri al-Maliki have been trying to hammer out deals that would put one or both of them in power, but no agreement has been reached and virtually all government decisions are on hold. Legislation to share oil revenue, boost economic growth, and solidify relations with semiautonomous Kurdistan has stalled. U.S. attempts to broker a deal have so far failed. The Netherlands held the previous record for longest time without a government, going rudderless for 207 days in 1977.