BELGIUM’S POLITICAL turmoil has intensified as hardline Flemish nationalist Bart De Wever says he sees no long-term future for the country and a credit rating agency has warned that the failure to form a government threatens the repayment of its national debt.
Mr De Wever emerged as the dominant political figure in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, in a general election six months ago. Socialists who prevailed in the French-speaking region of Wallonia have baulked at his strident demands for fundamental reform of its political system.
With protracted talks showing no sign of bearing fruit after 185 days, Mr De Wever was strongly criticised on both sides of the linguistic divide after he described Belgium as a "failed" state and the "sick man of Europe" in an interview with German magazine Der Spiegel.
In remarks widely held to make a fragile situation worse, Mr De Wever likened fiscal transfers from Dutch-speaking Flanders to French-speaking Wallonia to the supply of drugs to an addict: “The money should not be an injection, like drugs for a junkie.”
The country has been in the charge of a caretaker administration since the collapse in April of a coalition led by prime minister Yves Leterme. Although volatile politics are nothing new in Belgium, the country’s high indebtedness has seen it come under increasing pressure as the euro crisis escalates.
After the International Monetary Fund warned two days ago that Belgium should quickly articulate a plan to reduce its budget deficit to ease debt market concerns, rating agents Standard and Poor’s (SP) said it had concerns.
SP put the country’s leaders on notice for a credit rating downgrade, which would increase its borrowing costs, if they failed to form a government soon.
“We believe that Belgium’s prolonged domestic political uncertainty poses risks to its government’s credit standing, especially given the difficult market conditions many euro-zone governments are facing,” SP said in a statement.
While Mr De Wever insisted he wanted to conclude talks quickly to form a new coalition, most other parties claimed that would be more difficult in the light of his comments.
Mr De Wever said his remarks had been taken out of context to create “a certain atmosphere”, a charge that led French language daily Le Soir to reproduce the entire interview on its front page with explanatory notes.
Raising questions about his own willingness to compromise in the talks, he said in the interview that he ran the risk of losing the next election if he made any concessions. “We have been elected because we favour radical changes and because the voters trust us not to capitulate after six months of negotiations,” he said.
“If it were possible to bring about the reforms now necessary in the state of Belgium, then I would not prevent that, but it is not possible. The Wallonians, especially the socialists as the strongest party, block all meaningful reforms. That is why I say that Belgium no longer works. Belgium is a failed nation.”
He also claimed King Albert II, who has been co-ordinating the political talks, had not been even-handed in his approach.
“For us Flemings that is a disadvantage because the king does not think the way we do. For the Wallonians, it is an advantage because they are connected with him. We favour a republic.”
