B Belgian politics is once again facing the prospect of a complicated and protracted process of negotiation, following the failure of agreement on political reforms amongst coalition parties.  The current crisis is all the more alarming, coming as it does less than six months after a previous impasse (sparked by the 2007 General Election) saw Belgium without a functioning government for around 200 days. As such, this latest schism relates directly to the aforementioned debacle and the promises of political reform made to Mr Leterme’s Christian Democrat party in order to diffuse it. Mr Leterme, who once jocularly referred to Belgium’s existence as: “An accident of history”, took to office on the 12th March this year on the condition that specific political reforms, concerning devolution of power, be enacted by the 15th of July. With that deadline now expired and no reforms forthcoming, Mr Leterme feels that his political counterparts have reneged on their previous agreements, and rendered his position as national leader untenable. Belgium has long been viewed as something of an enigma within European politics. Despite having a robust, stable economy and being the seat of the European Union and NATO, Belgium undoubtedly possesses one of the most factitious and complex political systems in the developed world. Since its inception as a nation state in the 19th century, Belgium has had to accommodate multiple linguistic and cultural groups within its national framework. These include a Dutch speaking population of 6.5 million in the northern region of Flanders, a French speaking population of 4 million in the southern region of Wallonia (as well as a minority German-speaking population of around 70,000). As such, there are no national political parties or media institutions, rather separate organisations designed to cater for each specific language group. As well as the Brussels run Federal State, the governance system is divided along linguistic lines into individual federal regions (within which there also exist regional governments). It is these regions and the question of their respective devolved powers that lie at the heart of this dispute. With Mr Leterme and other Flemish parties demanding greater powers over issues such as transport, health and taxation be given to Flanders, Wallonian politicians (who fear that further devolution would edge Belgium a further step towards dissolution) are remaining recalcitrant. The consequence of all this means that, yet again, the question of a bi-partite separation has resurfaced within the Belgian political agenda, a possibility all the more tangible given that around 49% of Flemish voters endorse the notion of Flemish independence. With its notoriously unstable system of Proportional Representation, and entrenched grievances concerning regional autonomy, Belgium arguably represents the “perfect” political storm. Indeed, many political commentators, as well as ordinary Belgians, are now speculating whether this latest crisis will prove to be the proverbial “final straw” in Belgium’s arduous existence.  Tim Tonkin, The Cheers NewsTAGS: Politics  Belgium Yves Leterme Politics
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