2007–2008 Belgian political crisis
Encyclopedia
The 2007–2011 Belgian political
crisis is an enduring period of tense communal relations and political instability in Belgium
rooted in the differing opinions on state reform
, and in the continued existence of the controversial electoral district of Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde
(BHV). Parties from the Dutch-speaking Flemish Community
are in general strongly in favour for a devolution of powers
to the communities and regions, and the splitting of the unconstitutional BHV district, while French-speaking French Community of Belgium
is generally in favour of retaining the status quo. After the 2010 elections, the topics of public debt, deficit cuts and socio-economic reform were added to the debate, with most Flemish parties in favour of finding money by strongly reducing spending, whilst the proposals supported by most French-speaking parties also included a significant raise in taxes.
The crisis broke out in the summer of 2007, following the electoral victory of the alliance of Flemish Christian Democrats and separatists, who supported a wide-reaching state reform and the immediate split of BHV. After 194 days of often heated negotiations, parties finally succeeded in forming a new government. In December 2008, another crisis related to the Fortis case
, erupted, again destabilising the country and resulting in the resignation of Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme
. The new Herman Van Rompuy
-led government brought a brief period of fragile stability, but ended when Van Rompuy left his office to become the first full-term President of the European Council
. The succeeding Leterme II government
fell in April 2010 over the lack of progress on resolving the BHV issue.
New elections were held in June 2010, where the separatist and conservative New Flemish Alliance won a landslide victory in Flanders, while the pro-unity Socialist Party won the elections in French-speaking Belgium. Due to the major differences between the two winning parties on a community and social-economic level, government negotiations have already gone on for days, breaking the world government formation record of 249 days, previously set by Iraq in 2010. On 13 September 2011 it was reported that Leterme aims to take up a new job as deputy secretary general of the OECD in 2012, although that it would be unlikely that he'd leave the post as the head of the caretaker government
before the end of the year.
(N-VA) received an increased share of the vote from the previous election, held in 2003. The CD&V/N-VA list was headed by Yves Leterme
, and became the largest political formation in Belgium, thus leading the coalition talks for a new government. The list campaigned heavily on the need for a far-reaching reform of the Belgian state.
In French-speaking Belgium, the liberal Reformist Movement managed to defeat the long-dominant Socialist Party
(PS), although the PS remained strong.
and liberal
coalition was proposed. Because of the differing views on the need for a state reform on both sides of the language border, it took the parties 196 days, i.e. over 6 months, following the election, to form an interim government. That set a record as the longest Belgian government formation that has been broken by the 2010 formation.
was asked by the King of the Belgians Albert II
to start the formation of an interim government that would last until 23 March 2008, when Leterme would take over. Belgium's political uncertainty intensified when Yves Leterme was hospitalised on February 2008. He remained in the hospital for several days but it was soon made clear that his health would not prevent him from assuming premiership.
A first preliminary deal was reached on 25 February 2008. It was agreed that some powers over industrial policy and housing would be transferred from the federal government to the regions. Measures would also be taken to strengthen inter-region cooperation; a second package of devolution changes would then be passed before the summer recess.
was sworn in on 20 March 2008. In the late hours of 14 July 2008, after months of negotiations regarding the constitutional reform and electoral arrondissement Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde failed and with the deadline of 15 July 2008 within reach, Leterme offered the resignation of his cabinet to King Albert II
. After a series of consultations, King Albert II decided to reject Prime Minister Leterme's resignation on 17 July. The royal palace said that the King had asked two senior French-speaking politicians, Ministers of State François-Xavier de Donnea
(MR) and Raymond Langendries
(CdH), and the Minister-President
of the German-speaking Community
, Karl-Heinz Lambertz
(SP
), to establish how to start talks about institutional reform. They reported back to the King on 19 September 2008 with a one page report so that neither of the communities would back out of the negotiations. Only a few hours later, Didier Reynders
angered the Dutch speaking politicians with controversial statements and so sparked a crisis within the Flemish government. On 21 September 2008, the N-VA withdrew its parliamentary support for the federal government, saying that the 15 month long negotiations had failed to result in state reform. The withdrawal of support plunged the country into another crisis. Under pressure of the socialist and liberal coalition partners, the only N-VA minister in the Flemish government (Geert Bourgeois
) resigned his post.
On 19 December 2008, Leterme again offered the resignation of the government to the king, who accepted the offer on 22 December. The resignation was offered after news broke out that the government had tried to intervene in the verdict of the Fortis case.
, a former prime minister and president of the European People's Party
, to consult the various political parties and pave the way to a new "emergency" cabinet. The general consensus is that a government should run until the regional and European Parliament elections
in June 2009 or, if possible, until the next general election in 2011. On 28 December, King Albert II
gave Herman Van Rompuy
the task of forming a new government, which would include the current ruling parties. Van Rompuy and his government
were sworn in on 30 December 2008.
(who had replaced Van Rompuy again when Van Rompuy became President of the European Council
) fell over the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde
issue.
was held on 13 June 2010, resulting in the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) winning most votes in the Flemish-speaking areas and the Socialist Party (PS) in French-speaking Belgium. Nationally the two parties were almost even with 27 seats for the N-VA and 26 for the PS, the remaining seats being split between ten other parties. No agreement could be reached among the parties on a coalition to form a new government. As of October 2011, the country continued to be governed by an interim government.
Towards the end of July 2011 party leaders of the separatist Walloon Rally
(which does not have any seats in parliament) have had talks with the Union for a Popular Movement
party of French President Nicolas Sarkozy
and the French Socialists
resulting that, in the event of the split with Flanders
, Wallonia could become the 28th region of France
. A poll of the French daily newspaper Le Figaro
suggests that around half of Walloons and around 66% of French Republic citizens favour this plan. Most Walloon parties have not been campaigning to become part of the French Republic as a solution to the political crisis but state that this would be the best outcome in the event of the partition of Belgium
, with the exception of the Walloon Rally who have been campaigning for partition and accession to the French Republic since 1968.
Belgian minister for Climate and Energy, Paul Magnette
, also suggested to incorporate Wallonia into Germany
instead of France if the crisis in Belgium were to escalate. Although over 71,000 people on the Walloon-German border speak German as their first language, the vast majority of Walloons are French speakers. Thus arises the possibility that, if Wallonia does become part of France, the German speaking towns might well be absorbed by Germany.
Politics of Belgium
Politics of Belgium takes place in a framework of a federal, parliamentary, representative democratic, constitutional monarchy, whereby the King of the Belgians is the Head of State and the Prime Minister of Belgium is the head of government in a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by...
crisis is an enduring period of tense communal relations and political instability in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
rooted in the differing opinions on state reform
State reform in Belgium
The term State reform in the Belgian context indicates a process towards finding constitutional and legal solutions for the problems and tensions between the different segments of the Belgian population, mostly Dutch-speakers of Flanders and French-speakers of Wallonia...
, and in the continued existence of the controversial electoral district of Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde
Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde
Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde is a Belgian electoral and judicial arrondissement in the center of the country, encompassing:* the officially bilingual Brussels-Capital Region, which coincides...
(BHV). Parties from the Dutch-speaking Flemish Community
Flemish Community
The term Flemish Community has two distinct, though related, meanings:...
are in general strongly in favour for a devolution of powers
Devolution
Devolution is the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to government at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level. Devolution can be mainly financial, e.g. giving areas a budget which was formerly administered by central government...
to the communities and regions, and the splitting of the unconstitutional BHV district, while French-speaking French Community of Belgium
French Community of Belgium
The French Community of Belgium is one of the three official communities in Belgium along with the Flemish Community and the German speaking Community. Although its name could suggest that it is a community of French citizens in Belgium, it is not...
is generally in favour of retaining the status quo. After the 2010 elections, the topics of public debt, deficit cuts and socio-economic reform were added to the debate, with most Flemish parties in favour of finding money by strongly reducing spending, whilst the proposals supported by most French-speaking parties also included a significant raise in taxes.
The crisis broke out in the summer of 2007, following the electoral victory of the alliance of Flemish Christian Democrats and separatists, who supported a wide-reaching state reform and the immediate split of BHV. After 194 days of often heated negotiations, parties finally succeeded in forming a new government. In December 2008, another crisis related to the Fortis case
Fortis (finance)
Fortis N.V./S.A. was a company active in insurance, banking and investment management. In 2007 it was the 20th largest business in the world by revenue but after encountering severe problems in the financial crisis of 2008, most of the company was sold in parts, with only insurance activities...
, erupted, again destabilising the country and resulting in the resignation of Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme
Yves Leterme
Yves Camille Désiré Leterme is a Flemish Belgian politician, a leader of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party , and the 48th Prime Minister of Belgium.Leterme was the Prime Minister of Belgium from March 2008 to December 2008...
. The new Herman Van Rompuy
Herman Van Rompuy
Herman Achille Van Rompuy is the first long-term and full-time President of the European Council...
-led government brought a brief period of fragile stability, but ended when Van Rompuy left his office to become the first full-term President of the European Council
President of the European Council
The President of the European Council is a principal representative of the European Union on the world stage, and the person presiding over and driving forward the work of the European Council...
. The succeeding Leterme II government
Leterme II Government
The Leterme II Government was the federal government of Belgium from 24 November 2009 to 26 April 2010. it is still the caretaker government. It took office when the Flemish Christian Democrat Yves Leterme was sworn in as Prime Minister. It followed the Van Rompuy I Government which ended...
fell in April 2010 over the lack of progress on resolving the BHV issue.
New elections were held in June 2010, where the separatist and conservative New Flemish Alliance won a landslide victory in Flanders, while the pro-unity Socialist Party won the elections in French-speaking Belgium. Due to the major differences between the two winning parties on a community and social-economic level, government negotiations have already gone on for days, breaking the world government formation record of 249 days, previously set by Iraq in 2010. On 13 September 2011 it was reported that Leterme aims to take up a new job as deputy secretary general of the OECD in 2012, although that it would be unlikely that he'd leave the post as the head of the caretaker government
Caretaker government
Caretaker government is a type of government that rules temporarily. A caretaker government is often set up following a war until stable democratic rule can be restored, or installed, in which case it is often referred to as a provisional government...
before the end of the year.
Federal elections
Of the Flemish parties, the alliance of Christian Democratic and Flemish (CD&V) and the New-Flemish AllianceNew-Flemish Alliance
' is a Flemish right-wing political party, founded in the autumn of 2001. It is a conservative and liberal movement that promotes civic nationalism...
(N-VA) received an increased share of the vote from the previous election, held in 2003. The CD&V/N-VA list was headed by Yves Leterme
Yves Leterme
Yves Camille Désiré Leterme is a Flemish Belgian politician, a leader of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party , and the 48th Prime Minister of Belgium.Leterme was the Prime Minister of Belgium from March 2008 to December 2008...
, and became the largest political formation in Belgium, thus leading the coalition talks for a new government. The list campaigned heavily on the need for a far-reaching reform of the Belgian state.
In French-speaking Belgium, the liberal Reformist Movement managed to defeat the long-dominant Socialist Party
Socialist Party (francophone Belgium)
The Socialist Party is a Francophone social-democratic political party in Belgium. As of the 2010 elections, it is the second largest party in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and the largest Francophone party...
(PS), although the PS remained strong.
Formation negotiations
After the election, a Christian democraticChristian Democracy
Christian democracy is a political ideology that seeks to apply Christian principles to public policy. It emerged in nineteenth-century Europe under the influence of conservatism and Catholic social teaching...
and liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
coalition was proposed. Because of the differing views on the need for a state reform on both sides of the language border, it took the parties 196 days, i.e. over 6 months, following the election, to form an interim government. That set a record as the longest Belgian government formation that has been broken by the 2010 formation.
Verhofstadt III
On 17 December 2007, incumbent Prime Minister of Belgium Guy VerhofstadtGuy Verhofstadt
Guy Verhofstadt is a Belgian politician who was the 47th Prime Minister of Belgium from 1999 to 2008. He is currently a Member of the European Parliament and leader of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.- Early career :...
was asked by the King of the Belgians Albert II
Albert II of Belgium
Albert II is the current reigning King of the Belgians, a constitutional monarch. He is a member of the royal house "of Belgium"; formerly this house was named Saxe-Coburg-Gotha...
to start the formation of an interim government that would last until 23 March 2008, when Leterme would take over. Belgium's political uncertainty intensified when Yves Leterme was hospitalised on February 2008. He remained in the hospital for several days but it was soon made clear that his health would not prevent him from assuming premiership.
A first preliminary deal was reached on 25 February 2008. It was agreed that some powers over industrial policy and housing would be transferred from the federal government to the regions. Measures would also be taken to strengthen inter-region cooperation; a second package of devolution changes would then be passed before the summer recess.
Leterme I
An official coalition agreement was signed on 18 March 2008. Yves LetermeYves Leterme
Yves Camille Désiré Leterme is a Flemish Belgian politician, a leader of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party , and the 48th Prime Minister of Belgium.Leterme was the Prime Minister of Belgium from March 2008 to December 2008...
was sworn in on 20 March 2008. In the late hours of 14 July 2008, after months of negotiations regarding the constitutional reform and electoral arrondissement Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde failed and with the deadline of 15 July 2008 within reach, Leterme offered the resignation of his cabinet to King Albert II
Albert II of Belgium
Albert II is the current reigning King of the Belgians, a constitutional monarch. He is a member of the royal house "of Belgium"; formerly this house was named Saxe-Coburg-Gotha...
. After a series of consultations, King Albert II decided to reject Prime Minister Leterme's resignation on 17 July. The royal palace said that the King had asked two senior French-speaking politicians, Ministers of State François-Xavier de Donnea
François-Xavier de Donnéa
François Xavier Gustave Marie Joseph Corneille Hubert, Knight de Donnea de Hamoir is a Belgian politician and a former mayor of the City of Brussels and Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region....
(MR) and Raymond Langendries
Raymond Langendries
Raymond A. Langendries is a Belgian politician and Member of the European Parliament for the French Community of Belgium with the Centre Démocrate Humaniste, part of the European People's Party and sits on the European Parliament's Committee on Employment and Social Affairs.He is a substitute for...
(CdH), and the Minister-President
Minister-President
A minister-president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments, in which a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government prevails, who presides over the council of ministers...
of the German-speaking Community
German-speaking Community of Belgium
The German-speaking Community of Belgium is one of the three federal communities of Belgium. Covering an area of 854 km² within the province of Liège in Wallonia, it includes nine of the eleven municipalities of the so-called East Cantons...
, Karl-Heinz Lambertz
Karl-Heinz Lambertz
Karl-Heinz Lambertz , is a jurist and politician, currently the leader of the Government of the German-speaking Community of Belgium. He is noted for voicing an outspoken demand for his community, numbering about 70,000 around Eupen, to be separated from Wallonia and be recognised as a autonomous...
(SP
Socialist Party (francophone Belgium)
The Socialist Party is a Francophone social-democratic political party in Belgium. As of the 2010 elections, it is the second largest party in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and the largest Francophone party...
), to establish how to start talks about institutional reform. They reported back to the King on 19 September 2008 with a one page report so that neither of the communities would back out of the negotiations. Only a few hours later, Didier Reynders
Didier Reynders
Didier J.L. Reynders is a Belgian politician and a member of the Mouvement Réformateur . He is Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance and Institutional Reforms in the Van Rompuy I Government, which took office on 30 December 2008.He was born in Liège as the youngest in a family of...
angered the Dutch speaking politicians with controversial statements and so sparked a crisis within the Flemish government. On 21 September 2008, the N-VA withdrew its parliamentary support for the federal government, saying that the 15 month long negotiations had failed to result in state reform. The withdrawal of support plunged the country into another crisis. Under pressure of the socialist and liberal coalition partners, the only N-VA minister in the Flemish government (Geert Bourgeois
Geert Bourgeois
Geert Albert Bourgeois is a Belgian lawyer and politician . He is since 2009 the current Flemish Minister for Administrative Affairs, Local and Provincial Government, Civic Integration, Tourism and the Vlaamse Rand...
) resigned his post.
On 19 December 2008, Leterme again offered the resignation of the government to the king, who accepted the offer on 22 December. The resignation was offered after news broke out that the government had tried to intervene in the verdict of the Fortis case.
Formation negotiations
After the resignation of Leterme and his cabinet, the King consulted various dignitaries and party leaders. He then appointed Wilfried MartensWilfried Martens
Wilfried Martens is a Belgian politician. He was born in Sleidinge . Martens was the 44th Prime Minister of Belgium from 3 April 1979 to 6 April 1981 and 17 December 1981 to 7 March 1992....
, a former prime minister and president of the European People's Party
European People's Party
The European People's Party is a pro-European centre-right European political party. The EPP was founded in 1976 by Christian democratic parties, but later it increased its membership to include conservative parties and parties of other centre-right perspectives.The EPP is the most influential of...
, to consult the various political parties and pave the way to a new "emergency" cabinet. The general consensus is that a government should run until the regional and European Parliament elections
European Parliament election, 2009
Elections to the European Parliament were held in the 27 member states of the European Union between 4 and 7 June 2009. A total of 736 Members of the European Parliament were elected to represent some 500 million Europeans, making these the biggest trans-national elections in history...
in June 2009 or, if possible, until the next general election in 2011. On 28 December, King Albert II
Albert II of Belgium
Albert II is the current reigning King of the Belgians, a constitutional monarch. He is a member of the royal house "of Belgium"; formerly this house was named Saxe-Coburg-Gotha...
gave Herman Van Rompuy
Herman Van Rompuy
Herman Achille Van Rompuy is the first long-term and full-time President of the European Council...
the task of forming a new government, which would include the current ruling parties. Van Rompuy and his government
Van Rompuy I Government
The Van Rompuy I Government was the federal government of Belgium from 30 December 2008 until 15 November 2009. Herman Van Rompuy was nominated as the first President of the European Council and resigned shortly after as Premier...
were sworn in on 30 December 2008.
Leterme II
On 24 April 2010, the government of Yves LetermeYves Leterme
Yves Camille Désiré Leterme is a Flemish Belgian politician, a leader of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party , and the 48th Prime Minister of Belgium.Leterme was the Prime Minister of Belgium from March 2008 to December 2008...
(who had replaced Van Rompuy again when Van Rompuy became President of the European Council
President of the European Council
The President of the European Council is a principal representative of the European Union on the world stage, and the person presiding over and driving forward the work of the European Council...
) fell over the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde
Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde
Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde is a Belgian electoral and judicial arrondissement in the center of the country, encompassing:* the officially bilingual Brussels-Capital Region, which coincides...
issue.
Federal elections
An early electionBelgian general election, 2010
General elections were held in Belgium on 13 June 2010. After the fall of the previous government over the withdrawal of Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats from the government the King dissolved the legislature and called new elections...
was held on 13 June 2010, resulting in the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) winning most votes in the Flemish-speaking areas and the Socialist Party (PS) in French-speaking Belgium. Nationally the two parties were almost even with 27 seats for the N-VA and 26 for the PS, the remaining seats being split between ten other parties. No agreement could be reached among the parties on a coalition to form a new government. As of October 2011, the country continued to be governed by an interim government.
Formation negotiators
To date, the various political parties have not succeeded in forming a new government, which broke the 2007 record of the longest period without a government. To date, several people have made failed attempts to create an agreement (in chronological order and all appointed by the King):- Bart De WeverBart De WeverBart Albert Liliane De Wever is a Belgian politician and since 2004 has been the president of the New Flemish Alliance , a Flemish party that strives for an independent Flanders in a united Europe. He has also been a member of the Flemish parliament since 2004...
(Leader of N-VA) as informateur: 17 June 2010 – 8 July 2010 - Elio Di RupoElio Di RupoElio Di Rupo is a Belgian social-democratic politician and the Party Leader of the Socialist Party .-Biography:...
(Leader of PS) as pre-formateur: 9 July 2010 – 3 September 2010 - Danny PietersDanny PietersDanny Pieters is a Belgian politician and is affiliated to the N-VA. He was elected as a member of the Belgian Senate in 2010. He was the 33rd President of the Belgian Senate from July 2010 until October 2011.-Notes:...
(President of the Senate; N-VA) and André FlahautAndré FlahautAndré M.J.Gh. Flahaut is a Belgian politician. He was born on 18 August 1955 in Walhain, then in the province of Brabant and now in the province of Walloon Brabant. Flahaut studied political sciences and public administration at the Université Libre de Bruxelles.He joined the Socialist Party in...
(President of the Chamber of Representatives; PS) as mediators: 4 September 2010 – 5 October 2010 - De Wever as clarificator: 8 October 2010 – 18 October 2010
- Johan Vande LanotteJohan Vande LanotteJohan Cyrille Corneel Vande Lanotte is a Belgian politician. He is a member of the SP.A, and became its party president on 15 October 2005...
(Former Leader of SP.A) as mediator: 21 October 2010 – 26 January 2011 - Didier ReyndersDidier ReyndersDidier J.L. Reynders is a Belgian politician and a member of the Mouvement Réformateur . He is Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance and Institutional Reforms in the Van Rompuy I Government, which took office on 30 December 2008.He was born in Liège as the youngest in a family of...
(Minister of Finance; Leader of MR) as informateur: 2 February 2011 – 1 March 2011 - Wouter BekeWouter BekeWouter Beke is a Belgian politician and a member of the CD&V. He was reelected as a member of the Belgian Senate in 2007.Wouter Beke studied Social Law at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Political Sciences at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven...
(Leader of CD&V) as negotiator: 2 March 2011 – 12 May 2011 - Di Rupo as formateurFormateurA formateur is a politician who is appointed by the head of state to lead the formation of a coalition government, after either a general election or the collapse of a previous government. The role of the formateur is especially important in the politics of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg,...
: 16 May 2011 – present
Provisions and speculation on the possible partition of Belgium
- Main article: Partition of BelgiumPartition of BelgiumThe partition of Belgium, or the dissolution of the Belgian state through the separation of the Dutch-speaking people of the Flanders region and Brussels from the French-speaking people of the Walloon region and Brussels, granting them either independence or respective accession to the Netherlands...
Towards the end of July 2011 party leaders of the separatist Walloon Rally
Walloon Rally
The Walloon Rally is a Belgian political party, active in Wallonia since 1968. The party favoured federalism and since 1985 independence....
(which does not have any seats in parliament) have had talks with the Union for a Popular Movement
Union for a Popular Movement
The Union for a Popular Movement is a centre-right political party in France, and one of the two major contemporary political parties in the country along with the center-left Socialist Party...
party of French President Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
and the French Socialists
Socialist Party (France)
The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement...
resulting that, in the event of the split with Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
, Wallonia could become the 28th region of France
Régions of France
France is divided into 27 administrative regions , 22 of which are in Metropolitan France, and five of which are overseas. Corsica is a territorial collectivity , but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even shown as such on the INSEE website...
. A poll of the French daily newspaper Le Figaro
Le Figaro
Le Figaro is a French daily newspaper founded in 1826 and published in Paris. It is one of three French newspapers of record, with Le Monde and Libération, and is the oldest newspaper in France. It is also the second-largest national newspaper in France after Le Parisien and before Le Monde, but...
suggests that around half of Walloons and around 66% of French Republic citizens favour this plan. Most Walloon parties have not been campaigning to become part of the French Republic as a solution to the political crisis but state that this would be the best outcome in the event of the partition of Belgium
Partition of Belgium
The partition of Belgium, or the dissolution of the Belgian state through the separation of the Dutch-speaking people of the Flanders region and Brussels from the French-speaking people of the Walloon region and Brussels, granting them either independence or respective accession to the Netherlands...
, with the exception of the Walloon Rally who have been campaigning for partition and accession to the French Republic since 1968.
Belgian minister for Climate and Energy, Paul Magnette
Paul Magnette
Paul Magnette is a Belgian politician for the PS and former political science professor at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles ....
, also suggested to incorporate Wallonia into Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
instead of France if the crisis in Belgium were to escalate. Although over 71,000 people on the Walloon-German border speak German as their first language, the vast majority of Walloons are French speakers. Thus arises the possibility that, if Wallonia does become part of France, the German speaking towns might well be absorbed by Germany.
External links
- (Dutch) Overview of the mediators and formateurs, deredactie.be
- Belgian PM offers his resignation BBC report
- Fortisgate Website on the crisis related to the Fortis case