Was this the last National Day for Belgium?

The joke at the national celebrations was that yesterday's event could end up being the last one with Belgium splitting apart along linguistic lines. For the moment such predictions seem far-fetched if only because the capital, Brussels, is rooted in Flanders yet has a clear majority Francophone population.

But if the political deadlock drags on for much longer at a time when inflation is running at 5.8 per cent and the Belgian economy is grinding to a halt, who knows where the current impasse will lead the country? READ MORE

Boobs for Belgium

Sending in pictures of your boobs to solve the political crisis in Belgium. Sounds like the best idea I've heard yet, and how can it be any worse than what these idiots have accomplished in the last year.
We will take direct submissions of boobs on this website for any reason.
check out Boobs for Belgium

Brussels-Halle-Vilvorde...party does not follow Leterme; talks are fruitless

Premier Yves Leterme gave the impression that he would agree to a compromise proposal to play for time on the Brussel-Halle-Vilvoorde issue, but his party did not follow him. The proposal that the Flemish should approve an extension of the vote on BHV until 15 July came from VLD chairman Bart Somers.

The French-speaking would then invoke a new conflict of interests to allow a 120-day respite from BHV issue in order to focus on more pressing items on the agenda. However, the CD&V cartel did not accept this compromise.

Leterme now intends to make one last effort to find a solution, but it seems highly unlikely that its cartel partner N-VA will accept any proposal to circumvent voting in parliament.

The atmosphere between the Flemish and French-speaking politicians continues to deteriorate, De Standaard has established. Yet they are in agreement that today’s planned parliamentary session would be cancelled. However, the French-speakers seem to assume that the BHV split will appear on the parliamentary agenda. This morning Laurette Onkelinx (PS), vice prime minister announced that all French speaking parties wlll do all they can to prevent a vote in the parliament.

Belgium is not a model to follow

Belgium's linguistic communities pay a high price for sticking together, resorting to fudges that range from the silly to the destructive. Put like that, you can see Belgium's new government not as a relief, but as an awful warning. A political union hatched together by a fractious elite, and answerable only to itself, is not a model for anybody to follow. STORY IN THE ECONOMIST

Leading Political Party in Belgium Calls for Euthanasia for Teens and Children

The Leader of the Belgium Liberals, the primary Party in the Belgian coalition Government, has called for legal euthanasia to be permitted for teens and children. The 2002 law which permitted euthanasia on newborns and terminally ill patients suffering "constant and unbearable physical or psychological pain" currently restricts euthanasia to newborns and those over 18 years of age.

Can't we extend that to Belgian Politicians....even if it's unvoluntary...maybe put it up for a vote? STORY

Belgium has a new government!

Belgium has a new Federal Government today. King Albert has sworn in the new five party administration. This afternoon Prime Minister Yves Leterme will deliver his government’s policy statement in Parliament.
Here's a picture of the motley crew, somebody help us!
"the only merit of this government is that it is a government " (Het Nieuwsblad)

Belgium has a new government......because we said so!

“Belgium’s political crisis finally over” reads the headline on an article from Radio Netherlands Worldwide.
“It’s taken nine months, but now the political crisis in Belgium appears finally to have been resolved.“
Has it really been resolved though?
The new governing coalition is far from an ideal stable government. It is a hodgepodge of parties that are in many ways ideologically opposed to each other.
French speaking Socialists, Dutch speaking Christian Democrats, and the nonsense speaking Liberal VLD whose ‘accomplishments’ over the past years in government include taking their political opposition (Vlaams Blok) to court while letting some of the most heinous murderers in Belgium’s history run free.

Despite being roundly thumped by the electorate in the election nine months ago the VLD find themselves once again in the government with parties whose only shared common interest is their quest for power and stomping out of political dissent. A setup that has rightly been called “The Cartel”. This is Belgium’s ‘new’ government, in fact not much different from the old one.
MORE HERE

George Bush's popularity ratings would be sky high in Belgium!

George Bush's popularity rating would look pretty good in Belgium, where an opinion poll for the daily La Libre Belgique showed that 54 percent of the north and 92 percent of the south did not trust the new Belgian prime minister.

Belgium Political Crisis Ends With New Government. Belgium's rival parties say they have agreed to a new government, ending months of deadlock over demands for greater autonomy by the Dutch-speaking part of the country.

The deal for a coalition government was reached by five Belgian political parties representing not only political differences - between the left and the right - but the key split between those from Francophone Wallonia and Dutch-speaking Flanders.

Belgium gets a government this week

AFTER nine months, Belgium finally gets a proper government on Thursday. (Let me know how that works out) Guy Verhofstadt, prime minister since 1999, will make way for Yves Leterme and a new five-party coalition.

The deal will lead to a further weakening of Belgium's federal state in favour of regional governments, an unpopular decision in the poorer, Francophone south, where some of them might actually have to get a job to get paid.

Here's another "Only in Belgium"

On one hand you have the 4 stooges promoting investment in Belgium..., on the other, they are regulating national treasures to death.

They make the best chips in the world. But the traditional huts that sell perfect pomme frites in public squares and car parks across Belgium are battling against death by overregulation. STORY IN THE TIMES

Ever greater demands to account for hygiene, stock and staff have led to the numbers of genuine street frietkots tumbling from 5,000 to around 1,200 over the past two decades.

What color is the sky in their world? "ONLY IN BELGIUM"

PM Guy Verhofstadt, flanked by Belgium's regional Premiers on Monday launched the promotion campaign "Only in Belgium". I'm sorry to break it to these guys....but that phrase is already in use. It usually follows any number of jokes about this country.
The idea is to sell Belgium as an investment country abroad. Probably because even the Belgians are smart enough to invest somewhere else.

The campaign is necessary because the political bickering at home in recent months has damaged our reputation. (or exposed it...) Flemish Premier Kris Peeters insisted that we should leave times of complaining behind us and strive for excellence.
When people talk about Belgium we should seize the opportunity to promote our stabile and booming open economy our leaders say.
Don't you just love it when politicians have shit coming out of both sides of their mouth?

BELGIUM Budget balanced in middle of the night!

It's only the middle of the night because you started at 1pm you retards!

Isn't it amazing how these politicians arrange things so you can write the above headline? A lot of us work 17 hour days occasionally when under pressure. We just call it "Wednesday"...instead of Marathon Session.

Following marathon talks of 17 hours, an accord was reached early Tuesday morning which balances the federal budget for 2008. The marathon session started at 1 pm Monday afternoon. The negotiations were tough. An extra €300 million in expenditures were earmarked, of which €200 million for social benefits. STORY

Belgian 'wise men' strike breakthrough devolution deal

My...lets throw flowers at ourselves and we shall be known as the Committee of Wise Men! It's been my experience that a wise man in Belgium must be an expat or a tourist.

Eight Belgian elder statesmen reached a breakthrough deal on further devolution early on Monday that could end eight months of political deadlock and lead to formation of a new government within a month. Under the deal reached early on Monday, the interim five-party government would try to transfer a series of minor powers to the regions and pursue measures to strengthen cooperation between the regions. STORY

Verhofstadt to resign as Prime Minister on March 20

PM Verhofstadt confirmed his intention to leave before Easter at a meeting of party chairs Monday evening.
On Maundy Thursday Verhofstadt will pass the torch on to Yves Leterme. Leterme can then go to the King with his team of ministers to be sworn in, and his government declaration is planned to take place in parliament that Thursday afternoon.

Merry Christmas...Belgium has a new Government!

For now that is.....in a few months we'll be right back where we started.

Belgium proves that we really don’t need government. It’s been six months since an inconclusive election, and only now have they finally cobbled together a government of sorts, but only an “interim” administration to be followed by another “interim” administration.

Nothing suggests that the two sides are ready to agree. Nothing suggests that Leterme – who has shown himself brutally insensitive to the concerns of the Francophone 40 per cent of the country – is the right man to lead Belgium towards a more trusting relationship between Flemings and Walloons.

Although I don't know if their is a "politician" alive who can do that.

STORY

Madame Non says Oui!

IN THE "WHEN HELL FREEZES OVER DEPARTMENT" An interim government seemed as far away as ever on Tuesday when Joëlle Milquet's Francophone Christian democrats pulled out of the talks. But Madame Non said "oui" for the first time in her life and Joëlle Milquet emerged from the meeting at around 2:15 am and told waiting journalists that her party would be joining the interim government.

Flemish Christian democrats and the Francophone socialists wanted the Francophone Christian democrats to be part of any interim government. Furthermore, their support would be necessary to obtain the two-thirds majority required to get constitutional reform measures through parliament.

if you understand any of this......you are a sick individual! STORY

Even Belgium's interim government is in doubt

The French-speaking Christian Democrats formally declined caretaker Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt's invitation to join an interim government. That led the French-speaking Socialists to say they could not join either, denying the emergency government a legislative majority.

"We are slowly turning into a problem country. Our international reputation is suffering from this," party leader Bart Somers said. "You hear people complain about the loss of purchasing power. You need a government to fix that."

Verhofstadt has said he plans to leave politics once a new government is formed. Finally we have a politician doing what the people want! STORY

Loser to Lead Belgium's Interim Government

After a meeting with King Albert II, Guy Verhofstadt, left, the liberal ousted by voters in June, accepted the job of forming and leading an interim government because of the ”gravity of the situation in which our country finds itself.” But he said he did not want to remain in power beyond March. Mr. Verhofstadt, who had been prime minister since 1999, conceded defeat after the June election but has stayed on because the conservatives who won proved unable to form a coalition.

On Saturday, thousands of trade unionists took to the streets in Brussels, complaining about the political stalemate and rising food and fuel prices.

Belgium created a social welfare system in which the unions are related to one specific political party and it is the unions which pay the jobless peoples support payments.

The medicare and health insurance system payments are also executed by organisations related each to one political party. For this "work", the health insurance organisations and the unions receive an administration "commission" of 7%.

Do you think the unions want to stop this? The Walloon jobless bring an enormous income to the unions. The Flemish unions, which are Socialist at heart, would lose serious financial income in an independent Flanders.

They are the champions of the status quo.

Voters in Belgium Swing Right

Belgian voters moved to the right in favour of the Christian Democrats and the anti-foreigner Vlaams Belang party in Sunday's parliamentary elections, defeating the Liberal-Socialist governing coalition.
The one certainty was the defeat of Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, who had led Belgium since 1999. He quickly took responsibility for the defeat.
'The result of this election is clear,' he said. 'The electorate has voted for a different majority than the one that has steered the country for the last eight years. READ ON