Good afternoon!
For an outsider to Belgium and its... how shall I put this... 'uniqueness', there is nothing really that tops the spectacle of the Prime Minister declaring he wants to see the end to the country of which he's currently in charge.
Not only that, PM Bart De Wever would be more than happy for his country (and here I guess is the crux of the matter – he doesn't really see Belgium as 'his country') to be subsumed, consumed, absorbed into a 'greater Benelux'.
Firstly, has anyone asked the Netherlands and Luxembourg what they think of this cunning plan? I suspect they would say "Go away and think again; we are doing just fine as we are without adding your blend of 'unique' issues to ours, thank you very much."
Secondly, it just feels weird. Actually, it feels wrong that the Prime Minister is constantly banging on about this at a time when the country for which he is responsible is facing so many problems. Problems which require collective solutions. Problems that need the country to come together.
Rather than sowing division in a country already critically divided, the Prime Minister should be unifying the nation, convincing people that there is such a thing as Belgium, encouraging society to coalesce for the greater good and a future for the country that benefits all.
Politicians can lament the rise of populism and complain about a lack of trust all they want – but if they themselves do nothing to unify a people and sell the idea of a collective, inclusive society then they can hardly complain when those forces they supposedly fight against begin to take hold.
Maybe Bart De Wever, because of his political journey, his love of history and the prism through which he views Europe no longer sees the point of Belgium. I would argue rather that, if this is the case, then what is the point of Bart De Wever?
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1. ‘Beating heart of Europe’: Belgian PM wants to make Benelux into one country
If unified, the Benelux would be the fourth-largest economy in the European Union. Read more.
2. Belgians allegedly among ‘weekend snipers’ shooting Bosnian civilians during 90s war
Wealthy foreign tourists, including Belgians, allegedly paid extortionate amounts to shoot civilians for fun during the siege of Sarajevo. Read more.
3. Belgian pranksters bypass Louvre security to hang their artwork near Mona Lisa
The prank by Flemish TikTokkers Neal Remmerie and Senne Haverbeke has raised a few eyebrows in France. Read more.
4. Crunch match tonight for Belgium’s Red Devils in their quest for a World Cup spot
The Red Devils go into tonight's game against Liechtenstein on the back of a disappointing 1-1 draw against Kazakhstan. Read more.
5. WTC 4 Tower in Brussels’ Northern Quarter turns into homeless shelter this winter
"We cannot accept that buildings remain empty while people sleep outside." Read more.
6. Record amount of criminal crypto seized in Belgium, but only the tip of the iceberg
Criminal organisations in Belgium prefer tether. This is a stablecoin, a cryptocurrency that maintains a constant value of 1 US dollar. Read more.
7. It’s reigning cats and dogs: The politics of pet passports after Brexit
Post-Brexit Britain may be going to the dogs, but at least the pooches are quietly swapping nationalities. Read more.
