Welcome to The Flemish Republic
Why the Belgian federation should be dissolved and Flanders should become an independent state. |
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 Introduction
A Neutralised Majority
Apart from a tiny group of Germans along its eastern borders, Belgium is inhabited by two peoples: 62 % Dutch-speaking Flemings in Flanders, and 38 % Francophones in Wallonia.
The number of voters – voting is compulsory in Belgium – in the whole country is 5.8 million, of whom more than 3.6 million are Flemings and almost 2.2 million are Francophones.
Within the cabinet, there is “parity,” meaning that there is an equal number of Flemings and Francophones. The same rule applies for all major functions in the army, the top jobs in the Belgian diplomatic service, the government administration, etc: 50 % Flemings against 50 % Francophones.
Of the 150 seats in the next Parliament, ninety will go to Flemings, sixty to Francophones. Owing to the overrepresentation of the Francophones, it is harder for a Flemish party to win a seat in Parliament than for a Francophone party. For example, in 1999 the Vlaams Blok (now Vlaams Belang – Flemish Interest) and the Francophone Parti Socialiste (PS) gained almost the same number of votes in the general elections (9.9 % of the Belgian electorate for the Vlaams Blok against 10.1 % of the Belgian electorate for the PS), the Vlaams Blok got only 15 seats, while the PS got 19. A Vlaams Blok seat costs on average 40,974 votes, a PS seat only 33,228 votes.
Sclerosis
This Flemish underrepresentation is exacerbated by the constitutional requirement that any major issue in Parliament requires not only (a) an overall majority, but also (b) a majority amongst the Flemish and (c) the Francophone representatives.
Wallonia, the Francophone southern part of the country, where the Socialists are the dominant party, needs only 31 seats in Parliament to block any major decision in Belgium and impose its will on Flanders. Indeed, in Belgium 31 outnumbers 119.
This has led to political and economic sclerosis in Belgium, where Flanders has been demanding welfare state reform for years and is unable to get it, even though a majority of the Flemish clearly want it. Wallonia vetoes any major change in social security legislation, because over 70 % of Belgian taxes is collected in Flanders, while over 50 % of government expenditure goes to the Francophone part of the country.
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