Belgium Update

I'm sure everyone has been on the edge of their seats waiting to hear the news on Belgium. In an earlier post I discussed how Belgium has been without a government for months and how over 60% of the country would not be surprised if Belgium ceased to exist all-together. It has been well over 5 months (170+ days) since the elections and the government has still failed to exist. There have been multiple negotiation rounds, even consultations with the King. Now, all hopes are pinned on the prime minister-designate Yves Leterme of the Flemish Christian-Democrats to create a well-working government; although at this point most would probably settle for any government at all.

Under his direction parties on both sides of the language border have succeeded in concluding several partial agreements on justice and immigration. However according to the European Observer, much of the southern region of Belgium does not think Leterme is up to the task at hand. This is due to the fact that three vital issues still need to be resolved. The first is the issue of the electoral district of Brussels and its surrounding Flemish municipalities. Flemish parties are pushing for a split of the district without compensation to the French-speaking minority living in the surrounding area. This would result in the inability of the minority to vote for politicians from the largely francophone Brussels (aka the move is strongly opposed by French speakers). The second issue is the devolution of powers. While the Flemish are pushing for more power for the regions, the francophone speaking parties fear that this is a move to gradually break up the country. The third a final major issue is that it is unlikely that there is enough money to implement the political party agreements, which would make the renegotiation of these deals necessary.

The issue of the government desperately needs to be resolved in order to save this small country. Currently the outgoing government is prohibited from making important decisions and may only address current affairs. Also, Belgium may not be able to sign the latest EU treaty in December if no government has been set up by then. For more clarification on the political parties, see my earlier post.