Country For Sale: Seller Puts Belgium on Ebay!

Online shoppers were in for quite a surprise recently when they scoured eBay looking for the next great treasure. In addition to the website's standard obscure items was a description that read "For Sale: Belgium, a Kingdom in three parts...free premium: the king and his court (costs not included)."

The ad also offered free delivery, but was quick to point out that the country came second-hand and that the potential buyer would have to inherit over $300 billion in national debt. (Source: usatoday.com)

The ad, which actually insinuated the sale of the Belgian nation, was posted by one disgruntled citizen protesting his country's current political crisis. The jockeying for power amongst Flemish and Walloon politicians in Belgium has now surpassed 100 days with literally no end in sight.

Gerrit Six, the man responsible for posting the unusual ad, has claimed that the posting was a response to the rest of the world being so relaxed in response to Belgium's political crisis. In fact, many people have not even heard that Belgium was suffering from political turmoil until the ad was posted. Like many of Belgium's 10 million citizens, Six is furious that the power struggle between the Dutch-speaking and French-speaking political parties has left Belgium in limbo since the national elections were held this past June. (Source: cnews.canoe.ca)

The current demand for more autonomy from the Dutch-speaking Flemish is continually being resisted by the French-speaking Walloons, making it virtually impossible to form a united government coalition. The political shakedown has even led some to believe that the kingdom of Belgium is on the verge of a major breakup.

Six decided to vent his frustration using the Internet. The ad was met with a mixed reaction amongst fellow Belgians. Some commented that the posting was very disgraceful while others stated that this was a perfect example of true Belgian humor. (Source: usatoday.com)

Unfortunately, the seller had to pull the ad once an interested investor bid $14 million for the country.