Why Belgium's far right is set to win the election -- but not independence

[RandySF]

In Belgium’s upcoming elections, a party that wants to split up the country is expected to become the biggest winner. But the road to Flemish independence is still a long way off, writes Laura Dubois.

Context: On June 9, Belgians elect their federal and regional governments. As the country is divided into Dutch-speaking Flanders and French-speaking Wallonia, plus the bilingual capital Brussels, citizens cast votes for regional parties, who then have to form a federal coalition. Often, chaos and delays ensue.

For the first time, the Flemish far-right Vlaams Belang is expected to become the largest party with 26 of 150 seats in the federal parliament, and is polling first at around 26 per cent in Flanders.

“If we have a democratic majority, we will strive for independence,” VB party leader Tom Van Grieken told the FT.


https://www.ft.com/content/98b3f9b9-e48c-42ad-805b-aba5ecefb9dc

[DFW]

1. Politically, Belgium is a chaotic mess

I once had lunch with the majority leader of the Belgian Senate, and she confirmed it.

Belgium is about 60% Dutch (Flemish)-speaking, and about 40% French-speaking. The offices I work with in Brussels are all bi-lingual, with French speakers fluent in Dutch and Dutch speakers fluent in French. I speak both, so I don’t care, but even so, I have seldom witnessed any animosity from one group against the other, but my friends there all assure me that it is there out in the hinterlands. If 26 seats in a 150 seat parliament is the biggest faction there, that should give a clear idea of how fragmented their politics is. In Belgium, what do you call fifteen people seated at a large dinner table? The convention of a medium-sized political party.

For a relatively small country, they have a lot of issues that seem not to go away. Taxes are so high that one government auditor once came into a business owned by the friend of a friend and said, “OK, let’s see where you’re cheating.” The shop owner asked how the government guy could make such a statement? The government guy replied that if the shop owner had done everything legally, he would have gone bankrupt years ago (!!!). Corruption is therefore rampant. Pay off the government people, or they’ll come steal (“confiscate” ) it from you.

The issue of the hundreds of thousands of Arabic speakers hasn’t even been mentioned. They are there, and they are not going anywhere, much to the consternation of the Dutch speakers, who never wanted them in the first place.

I’m there once a week for work. Belgium will not break up, and it will not become a politically viable political entity any time soon, either. Pass through, enjoy the chocolate, the food, and the old architecture, and move on.

[maxrandb]

2. It's all good Europe

Keep FAFO with your "Reich"-wingers...Putin will "unify" you, although, you may not like his method of doing so.

[DFW]

6. Yeah, we're trying to avoid that if possible

He keeps sticking his nose in where possible (and there's a LOT of possible here), but some of his more blatant attempts, such as Sarah Wagenknecht in Germany and Melanchon in France are going nowhere. Of course, LePen in France and Orbán in Hungary are doing much better, although Hungary already regrets it, as would France if Le Pen gets to the Elysée Palace.

[JustAnotherGen]

7. My gap year

Traveling with a friend - I had the best time in Belgium!

[Irish_Dem]

3. Far right power, countries breaking up and the immigrant issue. Putin's fingerprints.

Same formula across Europe and in the US.

Find a country's vulnerabilities, exploit them, add hundreds of thousand of refugees, then light a match.

[Kid Berwyn]

4. The Atlantic this month...

The New Propaganda War

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2024/06/china-russia-republican-party-relations/678271/

[Irish_Dem]

5. At long last the media is figuring out the Putin/China/GOP war strategy against the US.

Thanks for sharing the article.