Belgium Goes Belly Up

Belgium is in the throes of yet another political crisis. The current chaos was brought on by the withdrawal of a Flemish party from the interim coalition government, which effectively caused the government to collapse. The Prime Minister Yves Leterme — who had only been in office five months — then resigned, but King Albert II initially refused to accept his resignation. The king has now surrendered to the inevitable, and Belgium faces the likelihood of elections followed by the all but impossible task of forming a new government.

Vlaams Belang, the Flemish nationalist party, sees in the current crisis an opportunity to prepare for the dissolution of Belgium and the creation of an independent Flanders. A party representative just sent us the following press release:

Vlaams Belang: “Flemish government must prepare the dissolution of Belgium now”

Vlaams Belang introduces a decree to enable Flemish state succession upon the Belgian federation.

The profound political crisis Belgium has run into, clearly proves the Belgian model is a complete failure. In this respect Brussel-Halle-Vilvoorde is just the symptom. The name of the disease is Belgium and the only remedy is Flemish independence. Home and abroad a possible split up of the Belgian federation into a Flemish and a Walloon state is more and more explicitly taken into account. Regardless one advocates such scenario, it’s of the utmost importance that the Flemish Government and its administration prepares itself most thoroughly for whichever scenario to come. When it comes to a dissolution of the Belgian union, the Flemish Parliament and the Flemish Government are the only legitimate democratic representatives of the Flemish people. In order to let a possible transition period pass as efficiently and shortly as possible, the Vlaams Belang feels that the Flemish Government has to take the required measures to anticipate the dissolution of the Belgian union. As a result our party has introduced a bill in which we urge for the Flemish administration to be commissioned to prepare the split of the Belgian federation and to draw up a scenario for that purpose. By means of this bill the Vlaams Belang also wants to urge the Flemish Government to take all necessary initiatives, to make clear Flanders will fulfill its international commitments as the successor state of Belgium and that Flanders will remain a partner in the European and Atlantic cooperation.

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The Vlaams Belang wants to avoid at all costs, institutional and/or organizational chaos is caused by the further evaporation and dissolution of the Belgian state. In its role of the good family man, the Flemish Government should anticipate the possible dissolution of the Belgian union. A thorough organization of the transition period and the preparation of Flemish independence on the European and global level are much needed measures to create trust and peace among the people and clarity on the international level. The Flemings are entitled to be certain of the fact that their government and parliament are ready to take over as much federal competences as possible and to play its role as the legitimate representative of the Flemish people.

Filip Dewinter
Chairman of Vlaams Belang in the Flemish Parliament