Belgian split

Brussels Journal has a story that King Albert of Belgium has urged the Belgians not to split up. Belgium is divided in two communities, the Flemish who usually speak Dutch and the Walloons who speak French. There is widespread resentment omongst the well-off and dynamic Flemish against the Walloons who live on welfare that has for a significant part been paid for by the Flemish. Recent polls have shown that 51 percent of the Flemish, who are the largest population group, support separatism.

The Vlaams Belang, Flemish nationalist party is also a strong supporter of separatism. The Vlaams Belang keeps showing strong results in local and Flemish communal elections. If the separatist wave keeps getting stronger and leads to a break-up this would lead to a strange situation for the European Union. The capital of the European Union is in Brussels. Brussels is surrounded by Flemish territory. It is originally a Flemish city, although it has been Frenchified.

The awkward question would be whether Brussels would be handed over to Wallonia, to Flanders or would be governed by the EU. But it would increase the level of absurdity that European political EU unification is showing.

Also letting Turkey into the EU would increase support of the Flemish population for the Vlaams Belang, since that party is also strongly against immigration of Non-westerners into the Flemish communities.

Presently the anti-separatist forces in Belgium are enabling North African immigrants to settle in Brussels. These have French as a second language and do not like to learn Dutch. They vote anti-separatistly, but on the other hand fuel the resentment of the Flemish against the central government. It seems the anti-separatists are running out of options.

Interesting times indeed.