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All the King’s Men
03/30/2009 :: Belgium has a new government. Last December, Prime Minister Yves Leterme and Justice Minister Jo Vandeurzen, a fellow Christian-Democrat, resigned following accusations that they had tried to influence a Brussels court to issue a favourable verdict in a case involving the government. The court case centred on the government-brokered sale of Fortis, Belgium’s largest bank, to the French group BNP Paribas.
The resignation of Mr. Leterme caused a panic in the royal palace. King Albert II called on a veteran, the 72-year old Wilfried Martens, who was Belgium’s Christian-Democrat Prime Minister between 1979 and 1992, to try to defuse the situation. Mr. Martens persuaded the 62-year old Herman Van Rompuy, the Speaker of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, to succeed Mr. Leterme as Prime Minister and to put the coalition of Christian-Democrats, Liberals and Socialists together again.
Platform
The royal palace is relieved that Mr. Van Rompuy, who was president of the Christian-Democrat Party twenty years ago when he led the party to its greatest electoral defeat ever, accepted to become Belgium’s new Prime Minister. Mr. Van Rompuy belongs to the pro-Belgian wing of his party. He defends the unity of the state and does not advocate greater autonomy for Flanders, the Dutch-speaking northern part of Belgium.
In June 2007, the Christian-Democrats won the general elections with a platform demanding more autonomy for Flanders, where 60% of the population lives. The Christian-Democrats even aligned themselves with N-VA, a Flemish regionalist party. The 2007 elections led to a political deadlock, because politicians from Wallonia, Belgium’s French-speaking southern half, refused to form a government with Mr. Leterme’s party if he insisted on more autonomy for Flanders.
Democracy
More than six months after the elections Mr. Leterme had still had not been able to put together a coalition, and the country had been without a government for the longest time in history. King Albert subsequently asked Mr. Leterme’s predecessor, the Liberal politician Guy Verhofstadt, to form an interim government to pave the way for Mr. Leterme. All the while Mr. Van Rompuy tried to persuade the Christian-Democrat leaders to renounce their alliance with N-VA.
Last September, the alliance between the Christian-Democrats and N-VA finally came to an end and N-VA joined the opposition. Mr. Leterme betrayed his voters by abandoning the election promises he had made for a constitutional reform that would give Flanders greater powers.
Since September the Belgian government, backed by 53 of the 62 Walloon members of Parliament, no longer has a majority in Flanders, where only 41 of the 88 Flemish representatives support it. This did not bother Mr. Leterme, nor did it bother Mr. Van Rompuy when he put the coalition together again.
It does, however, bother an ever growing number of Flemings who realize that as long as Belgium exists they will not be living in a country where Flanders is ruled by a democratic majority.
Article in issue nº 25
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