On the balcony

The attempt by Yves Leterme to form a new Belgium government has crashed. The king had to be whisked back to Brussels in an airforce jet from his vacationing spot in the South of France to enable Leterme to give back his assignment. What was the king doing in the South of France when everybody with the slightest political feeling could predict the pending crisis? But that's a minor detail. When he returned to his Belvedere palace, he passed a banner proclaiming “Independence for Flanders!” That may very well be the long-term outcome of this vaudeville.

The bottom line is: the situation is completely blocked. Leterme has failed miserably, and he's partly to be blamed for the mess. So is Madame “Non” Joelle Milquet and everybody else around the negotiating table. Since the elections on June 10, 75 days have been wasted in useless chit-chat carefully avoiding the main topic: the future of the Belgian federal state. Leterme is now heading for the balcony and wait for others to find a way out of the mess.

The best was out would be to:
declare Brussels “District of Europe”, Brussels D.E., where all the major European institutions are located. Issue European passports to the inhabitants of Brussels.
Split Belgium along the “language frontier” into two autonomous regions: Flanders and Wallonia. Of course we get rid of the monarchy in the process.
Establish a Europe of the regions, abolishing the nation states set up in the 18th and 19th century. In each and every European state there are profound contradictions between regions: Amsterdam against Rotterdam, Munich against Hannover, Paris against Marseille, Madrid against Bilbao, London against Glasgow. Get rid of the decaying carcass of the nation states and establish a true Europe of the regions.

One option is an independent Democratic People's Republic of Flanders. But creating new states in Europe is not the best solution. Another alternative is for Flanders to join the Netherlands. More than 60% of the Dutch people would welcome a union with Flanders, but more than 60% of the Flemish people doesn't like the idea. Moreover, getting rid of the Belgian dynasty of the Saksen-Coburgs, to be ruled by the Dutch dynasty of the Oranjes is not an appealing thought. A unified Dutch-Flemish country would be economically very strong, but it would have to be a republic. The monarchies should be buried together with Belgium.