Deja Vu: Belgium PM resigns
 

Looks like Belgium is falling into yet another political black hole if the king accepts the PM's resignation, and maybe even if he doesn't accept it. http://tinyurl.com/s6ppg
What a disaster for Belgium.
A Belgian friend is now seriously considering emigrating.

Why don't they just split it up and be done with it

create a Federation and it will be much like now but each with autonomy

I guess the Walloon area is despressed economically and the Flemish much wealthier - why would Walloons want a split?

That is a shame. But Belgians will probably continue on as usual with their daily lives.

I'm always amused when people say Belgium is boring. They have no idea what a potboiler this small country is. Anyone who reads La Derniere Heure for a week or watches a few episodes of Patrouille (I LOVE that show) will be astounded at all the stuff that goes on. It seems as if every little Flemish and Wallonian town is Peyton Place in disguise.

Of course we will continue with our daily lives. This isn't the first time that our government has given up! One gets used to that. Besides, what can we do?

@ PalenQ
Yes, the Walloon area is depressed economically.

It makes no real difference here. The country survived before this guy with no government for 9 months. Government or no government, the country is chaotic.

This is a serious question so please don't dump on me.

Why doesn't the French bit join France and the Dutch bit join the Netherlands?

If I remember my school lessons correctly Belgium is an artificial country created in 1830 or thereabouts.

I love the fact that it trucks on regardless. Can it do so because it is rich; because of the EU, because of the maturity of the institutions in Western Europe - or ...?

Who says the Dutch and the French want them?? And will Germany take the German speakers in?

Seriously I think in spite of all their problems most Belgians are proud to be just that and have little desire to be anything else.

It would also still leave the problem of Brussel-Halle-Vilvoorde, which is what this is mostly all about anyway.

I didn't know Belgium had only one Prime Minister :-)

>>If I remember my school lessons correctly Belgium is an artificial country created in 1830 or thereabouts.<<

A bit more complicated than that. It's part of the territory of the mediaeval Duchy of Burgundy that passed to the Spanish Hapsburgs by marriage, and accepted Spanish terms for peace early-ish in the uprising that eventually led to the independence of the Netherlands. Thereafter, the territory was neither French nor Dutch, but part of the territories of the Spanish, later Austrian Hapsburgs until the French revolutionary wars and Napoleon came along. Then they were "reunited" with the Netherlands for 15 years or so until various economic and financial issues led the (mainly French-speaking) middle and commercial classes, influenced in part by the further French revolution of 1830, to rise up against the Dutch regime.

So the powers agreed it could be independent - and it suited Britain for it not to be simply French again - provided it stayed neutral as between the various powers that had fought over it. Not quite an arbitrary or artificial creation.

Nation states aren't tidily based on linguistic or perceived ethnic boundaries. The attitudes of the French and Walloons towards each other, likewise the Flemish and Dutch, don't presume that a common language means a common identity, to put it mildly.

"Why doesn't the French bit join France and the Dutch bit join the Netherlands?"

My husband often jokes that the one thing that unites the Belgians is that they all hate the Dutch!! (He used to work for a Dutch company here in Brussels.)

It is also worth remembering that unlike the Netherlands, Belgium is a Catholic country. I believe that the borders between the two countries were drawn as much on religious grounds as anything else.

The Netherlands also has a very large Catholic community, mainly in Limburg and Brabant, but also in Utrecht and other provinces. True the Royal family have to be protestants, Princess Maxima was a bit of a problem on that front, but don't believe all Dutch are protestants also.

Stange but all the wealthy dutchmen I know live in Belgium along the border (something to do with Tax I think). So no Northern Belgium would not be welcomed in with open arms

The ole saying that there is only one Belgian - the King.

that such a small country could split would seem incredulous but that won't make it less likely. Guess the Flems would love to jettison the Walloons.

But the most important question to the international community: do we credit the Flemish or the Waloon's for the outstanding chocolate and beer?

There is a flemish government and a walloon government who are going about their business as usual. More and more people wonder why we even have a federal government. I think the only solution is to give more power to the states, and less to the country as a whole. It's just that the french-speaking part of the country is totally opposed to that, since they are subsidised by Flanders. They say no to every proposal made by the flemish.

We have ministers on the flemish, french and national level. All paid for by some of the highest tax rates in the world. It's a ridiculous system that has to come to an end sometime.

Not as high taxes as in Holland, with it's single government - otherwise all those rich (and not so rich) Dutchmen wouldn't be settled in Belgium ;)

I believe that Belgium was created to give Germany and britain somewhere to fight one another.

I married a Belgian. *shudders*

@ hetismij
Taxes on properties are much higher in the Netherlands. That's why all the rich Dutch come over to live here, mostly right across the border. Here they can afford to own large grounds. Second point is that retirees don't pay any income tax in Belgium!
"Personenbelasting" is higher in Belgium, i.e. the income limits are different.

As for joining the Netherlands: no, thank you. I like the Dutch very much but they're too different from the Flemish. The only thing we have in common, IMO, is our language.

You mean you pay more than 60% inkomstenbelasting?? yikes.

I know the Belgians don't want to join the Netherlands. Can't say I blame you really. Generally a more relaxed and friendly lot over the border in my experience. And at least your prime Minister knows when to resign :)

52% is the maximum in the Netherlands for incomes higher than 53.860 euro.
Our maximum is 50% for incomes above 31.700 euro. Most families where both husband and wive work, earn more than 31.700 euro and pay 50% against 42% in the Netherlands (income between 31.589 and 53.860 euro).