Belgians vote on future of their linguistically divided country, union is in doubt

Belgians vote on future, united country in doubt

BRUSSELS — Belgians voted Sunday in general elections that are widely seen as a vote on an orderly breakup of this country where 6.5 million Dutch- and 4 million French-speakers are locked in a quarrelsome union.

Polls closed at 1300GMT (9 a.m. EDT) amid expectations of a strong performance for a mainstream Flemish party whose leader wants Dutch-speaking Flanders to sever its unhappy ties with Francophone Wallonia and eventually join the European Union as a separate country.

This is a nightmare scenario for poorer Wallonia, which greatly depends on Flemish funds, and shows how linguistic disputes dominate national politics.

Elections were called one year early after Premier Yves Leterme’s five-party coalition fell apart April 26 in a dispute over a bilingual voting district.

That spat has gone unresolved since 2003 and pushed the New Flemish Alliance — a tiny, centrist party only a few years ago — into pole position: it is forecast to win a quarter of the vote in Flanders.

Its leader — and perhaps Belgium’s next premier — Bart de Wever, 39, wants an orderly breakup of Belgium by shifting the national government’s last remaining powers, notably justice, health and social security, to Flanders and Wallonia. That would complete 30 years of ever greater self-rule for the two regions.

The new Flemish alliance wants Flanders to join the EU. There are no comparable separatist sentiments in Wallonia.

Belgium must cut public spending by €22 billion in the years ahead, but the issue has taken a backseat to Flemish-Walloon sniping. In the words of Finance Minister Didier Reynders, a Francophone Liberal, the question facing Belgians is: “Do we still want to live together?”

Others favor more self-rule for Belgium’s language camps, but no divorce. “We did a study of 10,000 people and found 84 percent want the country reformed, but not broken apart,” said Marianne Thyssen, a Dutch-speaking Christian Democrat.

Belgian media reported no exit polls. The first meaningful results from the 6,110 voting stations were not expected until 1800GMT. Voting is mandatory in Belgium, where there are 7.7 million registered voters.

In Belgium just about everything — from political parties to broadcasters to boy scouts and voting ballots — already comes in Dutch- and French-speaking versions. Even charities such as the Red Cross and Amnesty International have separate chapters.

Pierre Verjans, a University of Liege political scientist, said he feels “a sense of mourning going on. French-speakers now fear a Belgium without Dutch-speakers.”

Breakup talk was long the realm of Flemish extremists.

De Wever’s surprise high rating follows three years of utter stalemate. As governments worldwide tried to tame a financial crisis and recession, the four that led Belgium since 2007 struggled with linguistic spats while the national debt ballooned.

Nothing illustrates the impasse more than the bilingual voting district comprising Brussels and 35 Flemish towns bordering it.

The high court ruled it illegal in 2003 as only Dutch is the official language in Flanders. Over the years, Francophones from Brussels have moved in large numbers to the city’s leafy Flemish suburbs, where they are accused of refusing to learn Dutch and integrate.

Since the 1970s, the two camps have been given self-rule in urban development, environment, agriculture, employment, energy, culture, sports and research and other areas. Today, Dutch speakers want autonomy in justice, health, taxation and labor matters.

The divide goes beyond language.

Flanders tends to be conservative and free-trade minded. Wallonia’s long-dominant Socialists have a record of corruption and poor governance. Flanders has half the unemployment of Wallonia and a 25 percent higher per-capita income, and Dutch-speakers have long complained that they are subsidizing their Francophone neighbors.