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Belgium’s path to the world record of a country without a government–it’s on track to beat Iraq later this month–has gathered international attention, as markets mull if they should worry that the impasse will undermine the country’s financial stability, eventually pushing up its deficit and debt.

But no need to panic: Belgians are strongly pressing the politicians negotiating a deal between the two communities–the francophone Wallonians and the Dutch-speaking Flemish–to reform the country and give more powers to the regions.

Belgian comedian Benoit Poelvoorde’s called for all men to refrain from shaving until there is a new government. “Keep you beard until Belgium stands up again!” Mr. Poelvoorde says.

Marleen Temmerman, a Flemish socialist senator, proposed a sex strike: Belgian women should abstain until a new government is formed.

She says she was inspired by a trip to Kenya, where a similar strike prompted politicians–mostly men–to form a government in a month. Ms. Temmerman says she didn’t expect her initiative to attract so much attention. “In the end, this all comes down to wondering what we can still do to prompt things to move,” she says in an interview with daily Le Soir, published Tuesday.

The senator’s idea didn’t originate in Kenya, however. About 2,400 years ago, Greek play writer Aristophanes wrote a comic play where a woman–Lysistrata–organizes a strike on the exact same lines to encourage men to put an end to the Peloponnesian war.

No need to worry about war in Belgium. However, given the events of the last 12 months, Belgium should perhaps not follow Greek examples too closely or the financial markets might not like it.