Breaking Up is Hard to Do

Ice cream and cookie dough might soon be in order for the people of Belgium. The country of over 10 million consists of two nationalities that cannot stand each other. In the north lies Flanders where Dutch (aka Flemish) is spoken and money is increasingly made. In the south lies Wallonia where French is spoken and the depressing landscape is covered with old factories. It is primarily because of these differences that both sides, specifically northern Flanders, are pushing for a national divorce of sorts.

More than three months after a national election the country has failed to elect a new government, stable or otherwise. This has caused numerous predictions that the country will soon cease to exist. Filip Dewinter, leader of the extreme right Flemish Bloc, was quoted by the New York Times claiming, "We are two different nations, an artificial state created as a buffer between big powers, and we have nothing in common except a king, chocolate and beer." It is the radical Flemish extremists like Dewinter who are pushing for the division of this flat country of just over 10 million people who just cannot seem to coexist. The proposed split would be to divide the country horizontally down the middle along the ethnic and economic barriers. This is partly due to the resentment about the econimic circumstances of the south. There the unemployment rate is double that of the north, causing Flanders to have to financially support Wallonia. However, the French-speakers of the nation support the status quo.

While it may seem like a fairly cut and dry issue, there are many possible consequences of the perceived breakup. For instance, the French speaking capitol of Brussels was traditionally a Flemish speaking city. In the occurrence of a split Brussels would become the capitol of Flanders, much to the outrage of the French-speaking citizens. It would also have possibly severe international consequences. Brussels is the home to both the European Union and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). The theoretical effects on these organizations are still unknown, but it could encourage other separatist movements, namely those of the Basques and Catalans, among others.