Belgium shifted to the right in Sunday’s election, but an expected extremist landslide didn’t happen.
The far-right separatist Vlaams Belang party, which had led the polls in recent months, grabbed 21 percent of Flemish votes Sunday — but failed to overtake its Flemish conservative rivals New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), which became Belgium’s biggest party with around 25 percent of Flemish votes.
Belgium’s mainstream had been bracing for a far-right win in the north, with voters endorsing a plan to break up the country in just a few years and Vlaams Belang riding a wave of European far-right forces doing well across member countries in the June 6-9 EU election.
Well, they want to be two separate countries. Other than a couple of small German-speaking areas, Belgium is split into a Dutch-speaking north and a French-speaking south. When they broke free of the Netherlands in 1830 they were united by religion, but obviously that’s not as big a deal nowadays. Wanting those two distinct groups to govern themselves without interference from the other isn’t in itself a ridiculous thing for a member of one of those groups to want, and the internal political borders within the country do already reflect it to a degree. However, as with most things, I would definitely be wary of it when it’s the far-right wanting to do it
Imagine having a country the size of a postage stamp and still pretending you can’t possibly get along with the town next door
It’s quite a busy postage stamp
But, uh, yeah, that’s Europe for you. The fact that the EU works at all is a stunning historical upset. Long may it continue
I see no issues with independence. Independence within a union is the way to go. If the Flemish and Wallons want their independence then that’s fine as long as they remain in the EU.
Belgian here. It’s about money and racism. Flanders (north) makes more money and has a higher employment rate. The separatist movement aims to put Flanders’ wealth first.
Foreigners are perceived to threaten our way of life and are perceived to cost money too. Vlaams Belang has been rather controversial in their statements earlier with a new young team creating some uproar. Both claim to benefit the Flemish citizen and will create better jobs with higher incomes.
Far left also gained ground so we are becoming more polarised.