Belgian crisis

Hi all,

Although it wasn't the purpose when I started this blog, I now feel I have to write about the political crisis in my home country.

Within two hours, we will have 150 days of post-election governement talks. 150 Days trying to create a new governement in this country, that I have never seen this divided. Flemish, Walloon...

Belgium has always been a difficult country for governing, hosting two (three, but the voice of the German-speaking Belgians isn't heard these days) major language groups; Dutch and French. The last 30 years this country has been an experiment of two different ethnic language groops to form a common built federal state. Nowadays, it seems that this experiment is starting to fail.

I call myself a Dutch-speaking Belgian. Officially also Flemish, I have no problems with that name, but I have more problems with politicians from my language group who try to label me as more Flemish than Belgian, or who try to label me anyway. I feel Belgian because that's the way I've always felt it.

Both sides made huge mistakes during these governement-forming talks. You can't deny a certain way of old-fashioned arrogance coming from French-speaking politicians. It is a given fact that in this country, French speaking citizens are known for their relatively bad knowledge of Dutch, my language and the major language in Belgium. Not almost relatively bad knowledge, but also the lack of willingness to learn it. The last decade however, I have a feeling of things changing. Dutch is getting more popular in the southern part of this country (French-speaking Wallonia).

I have no affenity with hard-nosed Flemish politicians too. I have always learned of a Belgium of tolerance, and of Dutch-speakers who used to be ignored in our capital Brussels, trying to speak Dutch in a mainly French-speaking city. Like I 've said, this also is changing.
So this tolerance is inside me since I was young. I feel no use to be agressive against French-speaking citizens of this country, but more to stimulate them to learn Dutch. With hard words, you can' reach anything in Belgium.

I am not a politician, but a future journalist. I want to say that I'd like to have that job in a federal Belgium, with more power for the Flemish and Walloon regions if necessary, but still in a federal country. A country that can still exist as a beautiful experiment of living together.

Christophe