Belguim has issues

Nine months on, Belgium finally gets its new government by Philippe Siuberski
36 minutes ago



BRUSSELS (AFP) - Belgium's new government was finally sworn in Thursday more than nine months after elections, closing a troubling chapter in a political crisis that could yet resurface in a few months.

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Flemish Christian Democrat Yves Leterme and his 15-member cabinet gave the oath of office to King Albert II in a ceremony at the royal palace, a move Belgians have been waiting for since June 10.

"Our country, Belgium, remains a country where it is good to live and which has plenty of things of which we can be proud," Leterme, 47, told parliament later, as he sought to win the confidence of both houses.

But, he said, the kingdom can "only hope to have a prosperous future if it is ready for change."

The confidence vote will officially be handed down on Saturday.

Belgium's political crisis had turned on how much federal power should be devolved to the regions, with parties in the more populous and prosperous Dutch-speaking region of Flanders demanding more control over regional affairs.

The five parties making up the new coalition -- three of them French-speaking formations and two from Flanders -- finally sealed overnight an agreement on how to share the portfolios.

Seven women will be part of the government, which largely resembles the interim cabinet led by Guy Verhofstadt, who had pledged to step down, come what may, by March 20.

The new cabinet list, endorsed by the king, retains Karel De Gucht and Patrick De Wael as foreign and interior ministers respectively.

Pieter De Crem and Jo Vandeurzen will keep the defence and justice portfolios, while Didier Reynders will remain finance minister and Laurette Onkelinx health minister.

Francophone centrist leader Joelle Milquet -- known in Flanders as "Madame No" for her hardline in governmental negotiations -- is the new face, taking on the role of employment and equal opportunities minister.

A key task now will be to agree by July on how to devolve powers to the regions, although a series of other issues -- some left unresolved during the months-long search for a compromise -- will also have to be addressed.

Observers had said that the current team has lacked cohesion and questions have been raised about whether the new cabinet, which is essentially the same, will last a year.

According to a survey made public Wednesday for RTL-TVI/VTM television, 63 percent of Belgians do "not have confidence" in the new government. More than half of those questioned believe it will collapse by mid-2008.

Dutch-speakers make up about 60 percent of Belgium's 10.5 million population. They live predominantly in Flanders, once the poorer half of Belgium but now one of the most dynamic corners of western Europe.

The Francophones -- living mainly in Wallonia and the officially bilingual Brussels capital region and making up almost 40 percent of residents -- fear that handing down too much power could lead to the breakup of the country.

Belgium also has a small German-speaking minority.

Language differences -- and each community's insistence that they be able to communicate in their own tongue -- are a regular source of tension in Belgium.

Leterme -- who once confused Belgium's anthem with that of France and failed in two previous attempts to form a government -- fuelled inter-communal anger in 2006 by suggesting that French speakers were not capable of learning Dutch.

XxAxX said:

Language differences -- and each community's insistence that they be able to communicate in their own tongue -- are a regular source of tension in Belgium.

maybe they should all just speak english like regular folks*








* kidding!

interesting stuff. i have relatives from/in Belgium, and i've always been confused about their language situation and their government.

IrresistibleB1tch said:

ehuffnsd said:

XxAxX said:

maybe they should all just speak english like regular folks*








* kidding!

WOW you always have the right solution! X for Prez

IrresistibleB1tch said:

Martina, now orgs official resident fairy/pixie
Your name...it means Warrior. So, you are the "warrior fairy!"

Serious said:

IrresistibleB1tch said:

interesting stuff. i have relatives from/in Belgium, and i've always been confused about their language situation and their government.

Hi Martina !
I wonder if there is any other orger from Belgium apart from MarieLouise who might have any insight?

IrresistibleB1tch said:

Serious said:

Hi Martina !
I wonder if there is any other orger from Belgium apart from MarieLouise who might have any insight?

Hi Martina!

you know, i'm not sure who else is here from Belgium...

Well, here are some Belgo ramblings, since there has been a request:)..

I am Belgian, although I have been living away from Belgium for the past 15 years [first in London, then Budapest, Boston, and now Moscow] - like many Belgian expats I've met, I love my country... from a distance:)..
So I can't say I've been in close contact with events there, and I haven't kept a close eye on this political crisis. But I do go home a couple of times a year.

First, this whole French-Flemish dispute has been going on for decades. It's in fact part of the reason why I left the country. I found the protracted debates and bickering about how best to distribute the powers and resources of the country between the two communities mind-numbing and distracting the people and more importantly the government from other more urgent issues and activities. While we are stuck in discussions on who should speak what language in what part of the country, the rest of the world [the British, Americans,Russians, Asians, etc.] are working towards improving their societies, economies, innovative fields, etc. This is a hugely general statement but this is what I felt for the 18 years I lived in Belgium - that this linguistic conflict would pursue me through my whole life and hamper my growth and opportunities in that country.

It starts with compuslory [Flemish/French] language classes from primary school through to the last year of high school - years of Flemish lessons for me - of which I have no use today. Since I don't speak Flemish fluently my chances of getting a job in Brussels are next to nil. When I'm in Brussels I speak English.

What I find worrying is that the language dispute has spilled over other areas, such as legislation, some of which I have heard to be dicriminatory. This has translated into discriminatory practices in the labor market and other areas. More worrisome is the Flemish Extreme Right movement's apparent embrace of this linguistic/cultural issue for its own causes - although I assume this is a very small percentage of the population.

Flandria is the economic engine of the country, with the much poorer Wallonia trailing behind. According to stereotypes, the 'Germanic' Flemish are hard-working and enterprising, while the more 'Latin' French-speaking Walloons are more fun-loving, laid-back and let's say it, lazy in their work ethic. Personally I hold this to be largely true, and I support 100% and perfectly understand the Flemish for being sick and tired of trying to function with this Walloon millstone around their neck.

As for this new government, like the over 50% of Belgians surveyed in the AP story, I doubt it will last long. For a start it doesn't look very representative to me, with the majority of top ministerial posts filled by the Flemish. But then, my guess is that they worked much harder than the Walloons to get there...

I'm sure I'm chock full of preconceived ideas and prejudices in my assessment of this old Belgian lingusitic/ethnic problem, it's hard to be immune in the context of renewed tensions.

I'm going to Belgium late next month. Not sure what to expect on the political front over there. But I'm sure a bite out of those heavenly Belgian chocolate 'pralines' will make eveything look sweet and surreal:)...

Belgian here!

(well, Flemish, to be more precise, don't want anything to do with those lazy no-good French speaking Wallons )

Hello SpcMs! Know of any other of us in these Org spaces? You are 'my first Belgian' here.

"don't want anything to do with those lazy no-good French speaking Wallons"

SpcMs said:

Belgian here!

(well, Flemish, to be more precise, don't want anything to do with those lazy no-good French speaking Wallons )

Hi Flo6,

as mentioned earlier MarieLouise, and there are at least two or three other Belgians I've talked to over the years (Melody-something, the infamous BVH, yvo-something). But as you can tell that's from quite some time ago.

I saw not long ago someone called something like Mpls with a number, 2-4?.. and a red square for avatar, but I can't remember more clearly...
It took me 5 years to bump into my first Belgian expat here in Moscow. Good to see things go a little faster here. Proof that the virtual rocks.

Maybe we here, Org Belgos, need to start some action so that Prince doesn't keep circling around Belgium, as he seems to be doing with his upcoming European Tour [Dublin, Denmark, Paris, Milan,..], so that he actually step into it!..

SpcMs said: