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Old September 23rd, 2008 #1
dogman
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Join Date: Dec 2005
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Default Belgium faces new political crisis

Belgium faces new political crisis

ELITSA VUCHEVA

22.09.2008 @ 09:27 CET

The Belgian government of prime minister Yves Leterme is facing a new crisis and a possible collapse, after the Flemish center-right nationalist party N-VA left the coalition on Sunday (21 September) and announced it would no longer take part in talks on state reforms.

"We are no longer part of this federal coalition government," N-VA party leader Bart de Wewer said, according to the French news agency AFP.

The N-VA is part of the seven-party coalition government which was only formed in March after nine months of stalemate and has barely held together since then.

It is also the smaller ally of a "cartel" formed with the Christian Democrat CD&V party of Mr Leterme, holding the largest bloc of 30 seats in the 150-strong federal parliament.

It remains unknown what the Christian Democrat's next move will be, but if it decided to follow the N-VA, this could lead to the government's collapse, with the possibility of early elections to be called in the next few months.

The N-VA's decision has prompted criticism, including within the other Flemish parties, for provoking yet another political crisis in Belgium.

"I have had enough of the N-VA. We can no longer be taken hostage by a party which wants to ruin our country," said Bart Sommers, head of the liberal Flemish Open-Vld party of former prime minister Guy Verhofstadt, according to AFP.

The fresh crisis follows difficult talks on state reforms and devolution of powers to Belgium's regions.

Flanders, the wealthier Dutch-speaking northern half, has been pushing for more regional powers, while the poorer French-speaking Wallonia in the south fears an eventual break-up of the country and favours more federal authority.

An ongoing deadlock in the talks had already pushed Mr Leterme to quit his post in July, but his resignation was not accepted by the Belgian King.

http://euobserver.com/9/26781
 
Old September 23rd, 2008 #2
fdtwainth
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Finally. I have long hoped for the collapse of artificially created democratic Belgium. Its democratic elites are rotten to the core: it's time for the Flemish to join their Fatherland, Netherlands, and for the Walloon to join their Fatherland, France.
 
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