Mass migration is accelerating the nation of Belgium’s break up, with populist independence parties for the Dutch-speaking north ready to separate from the French-speaking south. The country is approximately the same size as the state of Maryland, with a population the size of Ohio.
Home to the European Union’s de facto capital of Brussels – a French-speaking island in the Dutch-speaking Flanders region – as well as NATO’s headquarters, Belgium is currently experiencing an immigration surge on par with the migrant crisis of 2015-16.
Problems with migrant integration have long been apparent in Belgian society, with riots in France over a police shooting recently spreading to Brussels for no other reason than the fact they involved a migration-background youth. Raheem Kassam, editor-in-chief of The National Pulse, was covering the formation of no-go zones in Belgium as long ago as 2017.
The country’s Dutch-speaking Flemish have had enough, with the so-called “far-right” Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) party poised to become to biggest in the country in next June’s elections.
“We believe Belgium is a forced marriage,” says Vlaams Belang leader Tom Van Grieken.
“[W]e have to come to an orderly division. If they don’t want to come to the table with us, we’ll do it unilaterally,” he warns.
Historically, Belgian politics has been dominated by French-speaking Wallonia, but it has lost its grip on power in recent years. The Belgian government, currently comprised of a seven-party coalition, is highly dysfunctional, and the country has gone as long as 652 days with no one in charge due to politicians with highly divergent beliefs being unable to reach compromises following national elections.
https://thenationalpulse.com/2023/07/22/belgium-the-size-of-maryland-might-break-up-over-immigration/
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