Belgicisme/Belgicanisme

It's chaos outside my window at the moment. There's the constant sound of horn-beeping and other annoying traffic-related sounds.

Well, the sound of cars at least. The Brussels transport network MIVB/STIB has called it quits for a while and gone on strike, so everyone is having to drive or walk, or take the De Lijn buses (Flanders saves the day again). And they don't mess about, they started during rush hour yesterday so people coming home from work (me being one of these people) were buggered.  I was meeting my sisters in Delirium in the centre of town, and decided to get off the bus from the airport earlier on in order to take the metro closer to the centre. Of course the metro decided to stop literally the moment after I got there. Buses were still working at that point but it would have been pointless to walk to a bus which wouldn't take me that close to where I wanted to be. So I walked (quickly I might add, as I really wanted a beer and a wee.)

Seriously, they're beeping a lot now. Is this to get the traffic moving with soundwaves, or to express anger at the Belgian government, or lack thereof?

I read a good article today from the Independent about the political crisis here. I was quite impressed to find a better quality article about it in a British newspaper than most other articles about it on the BBC and other newspapers. Usually it's simply "Belgium doesn't have a government. They speak French and Dutch there. Brussels is a French-speaking city in Flanders, that's the problem" - none of which is wholly incorrect, although the last part could be misinterpreted.

May I interrrupt the proceedings to inform all that I am typing this while looking at the screen through my new glasses. As of Sunday I became Dave "Specky-Four-Eyes" Cooper. They are fabulous of course, simply because I don't have to squint anymore.

I came across the concept of Belgian nationalism while reading this article (I often break off to investigate things that I think about as a result of the intellectual stimulation (lol) that we get from reading). I hadn't thought much about it, which is probably why I got a slightly lower grade than I had wished for on my final Dutch project at uni (I concentrated on regionalism in Belgium, but evidently didn't really mention the possibility of nationalism in Belgium). Then I got to thinking (yes, I've been watching too much Sex and the City) about Belgian nationalism (Belgicisme in Dutch, Belgicanisme in French) as a possible avenue to success in the future and an end to the political crises that have crippled the country over the last few years. Maybe it is possible that after (too) much devolution of responsibilities (a much more agreeable term than 'power', n'est-ce pas?), it might be time to acknowledge the role of federal government in encouraging the country and its people to become united, rather than the regions simply 'sticking together' because they can't separate.

The protests have gestured towards this, however on paper the movement is only favoured among the Wallonian parties. This is because it normally only fits with their other policies of keeping their financial interests covered. - there are no French-speaking separatists that have as much influence as the NVA or Vlaams Belang, as it would not make financial sense for Wallonia to secede from Belgium. Flanders on the other hand, would be loaded as it would no longer have to subsidise poor Wallonia if it decided to split.

Wouldn't it be great though, if the regions could put their financial interests aside, and just look at the social impact of embracing the Belgian identity and working it into their politics? Or have they already tried enough, and this young and relatively inexperienced blogging nobody should shut the hell up?