Waving the flag for a dying nation

On this leafy avenue of Art Nouveau houses in the upmarket Ixelles neighbourhood of Brussels, Belgian flags have become a ubiquitous feature since the fall of the government in April, fluttering about window sills and above shop signs.

“When I heard that the government had fallen yet again I was totally shocked and started to worry about the future of this small country of ours,” says Ariane, a French-speaking resident. “So I hung up the flag to show my concern and to express my sense of belonging to Belgium.” Casting a worried glance upward towards the black, gold and red fabric, she added: “The problem is that our politicians seem bent on wrecking our country.”

Belgians head to the polls this weekend at the end of an election campaign dominated by the spiralling and increasingly sharp-tongued debate over language rights. Prime Minister Yves Leterme threw in the towel in April after his government once again failed to resolve a row over how to repartition the communes around Brussels into new voting districts divided along language lines. Even though most Belgians can barely grasp the technicalities of this issue and are more concerned about their country’s ballooning public debt, it has helped to fuel demands by the Flemish nationalists for more autonomy. The debate has been fanned by the partisan media, says Ariane, who says she has stopped all her newspaper subscriptions. “The media is only making matters worse by taking extreme positions. I know many people who don’t even watch TV anymore because of it.”

of Art Nouveau houses in the upmarket Ixelles neighbourhood of Brussels, Belgian flags have become a ubiquitous feature since the fall of the government in April, fluttering about window sills and above shop signs.

“When I heard that the government had fallen yet again I was totally shocked and started to worry about the future of this small country of ours,” says Ariane, a French-speaking resident. “So I hung up the flag to show my concern and to express my sense of belonging to Belgium.” Casting a worried glance upward towards the black, gold and red fabric, she added: “The problem is that our politicians seem bent on wrecking our country.”

Belgians head to the polls this weekend at the end of an election campaign dominated by the spiralling and increasingly sharp-tongued debate over language rights. Prime Minister Yves Leterme threw in the towel in April after his government once again failed to resolve a row over how to repartition the communes around Brussels into new voting districts divided along language lines. Even though most Belgians can barely grasp the technicalities of this issue and are more concerned about their country’s ballooning public debt, it has helped to fuel demands by the Flemish nationalists for more autonomy. The debate has been fanned by the partisan media, says Ariane, who says she has stopped all her newspaper subscriptions. “The media is only making matters worse by taking extreme positions. I know many people who don’t even watch TV anymore because of it.”