Belgium slumped into one of the deepest political crises in 50 years on Wednesday when coalition talks between Flemish and Francophone parties collapsed under the weight of incessant recriminations between leaders of the language groups.
After a record 150 days without government, Flemish parties worsened the situation by using their majority electoral clout against the wishes of their Francophone counterparts in parliament to vote for the carve-up of a bilingual electoral district in and around Brussels.
They did so for the first time in many decades, effectively ditching a long tradition of consensus politics.
"We've lived with a certain balance. Today the Flemish have brutally broken that balance," said Francophone Socialist lawmaker Yvan Mayeur.
"It showed a total lack of loyalty," added Francophone Liberal Francois Xavier de Donnea, whose Flemish sister party voted for the carve-up.
Amid the chaos in parliament, it was up to King Albert to try to find a way out of the deadlock stifling the country of 6 million Dutch-speaking Flemings and 4.5 million Francophones since June elections.
There was talk of moving toward a government that would only take care of urgent political and economic business, leaving the linguistic disputes for later -- perhaps years later.
"I hope there will be a government that will deal with economic and social issues," said Francophone Liberal negotiator Didier Reynders.
Late on Tuesday, government negotiator Yves Leterme put forward a compromise to Christian Democrat and Liberal parties from both sides of the language border that slices Belgium into Flanders in the north and Francophone Wallonia in the south.
Flemish negotiators accepted the plan as a basis for more talks on the language rights in and around bilingual Brussels, but their Francophone counterparts rejected it, saying it would effectively bar French-speakers from voting for Francophone parties in a Flemish area around Brussels.
Late on Wednesday, the Flemish Christian Democrat and Liberal parties confirmed their confidence in Leterme to find a way out of the crisis and the Christian Democrats insisted a new coalition government would also have to tackle the linguistic problems.
Politicians and pundits braced for one of the biggest political crises in 50 years in Belgium, a country where linguistic issues lurk just below the surface of politics.
Leterme was the big winner of the June 10 elections but failed to achieve palpable progress on the two most divisive issues -- the rights of the Francophone minority living in Flanders close to Brussels and a further devolution of powers to the regions.
During months of brokering, Francophone parties complained that he was protecting Flemings' interests. Leterme didn't help his cause as a Belgian unifier when he could not say what was celebrated on Independence Day and sang the French Marseillaise when asked for the Belgian national anthem.
That stalemate has triggered growing support for Flemish nationalist parties and led to talk of a possible breakup of Belgium.
Some opponents in and around Brussels have responded by flying Belgium's red, black and yellow flag in a rare show of public patriotism.
The current dispute hinges on the language rights of a substantial French-speaking minority living in Flemish territory around Brussels, and a drive by economically strong Flanders for greater regional powers, in part to reduce the flow of Flemish tax revenues to poorer Wallonia.
The center-left government of Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, meanwhile, has continued in office in a caretaker capacity.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese