Language spat splits Belgian government
Source: Agencies |
April 23, 2010, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
BELGIAN Premier Yves Leterme's government collapsed yesterday after negotiations broke down to resolve a long-simmering dispute between Dutch and French-speaking politicians over a bilingual voting district.
Dutch-speaking Liberals, one of Leterme's five coalition parties, quit the Cabinet, accusing its Francophone counterparts of blocking a deal to break up the Brussels-area district the constitutional court ruled illegal in 2003.
Leterme offered King Albert the resignation of his government.
The Belgian monarch did not immediately accept it, but began consultations with key politicians. In a statement, the royal palace called a political crisis "inopportune."
It said it can harm "Belgium's role in Europe and at an international level" - a reference to fear that the political deadlock could drag into the second half of 2010 when Belgium is to hold the EU's rotating presidency.
Linguistic disputes have long dominated politics in this country of 6.5 million Dutch-speakers and 4 million Francophones.
Belgium is divided into Dutch- and French-speaking regions which determines what single language is used on everything from mortgages and traffic signs to election ballots and divorce papers.
In 2003, Belgium's Constitutional Court ruled the bilingual Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde voting district illegal because it violates the strict separation of Dutch and French-language regions. It comprises officially bilingual Brussels but also 20-odd towns in Dutch-speaking Flanders around the capital.
But on Wednesday the coalition failed to find a solution for the bilingual district.
Dutch-speaking Liberals, one of Leterme's five coalition parties, quit the Cabinet, accusing its Francophone counterparts of blocking a deal to break up the Brussels-area district the constitutional court ruled illegal in 2003.
Leterme offered King Albert the resignation of his government.
The Belgian monarch did not immediately accept it, but began consultations with key politicians. In a statement, the royal palace called a political crisis "inopportune."
It said it can harm "Belgium's role in Europe and at an international level" - a reference to fear that the political deadlock could drag into the second half of 2010 when Belgium is to hold the EU's rotating presidency.
Linguistic disputes have long dominated politics in this country of 6.5 million Dutch-speakers and 4 million Francophones.
Belgium is divided into Dutch- and French-speaking regions which determines what single language is used on everything from mortgages and traffic signs to election ballots and divorce papers.
In 2003, Belgium's Constitutional Court ruled the bilingual Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde voting district illegal because it violates the strict separation of Dutch and French-language regions. It comprises officially bilingual Brussels but also 20-odd towns in Dutch-speaking Flanders around the capital.
But on Wednesday the coalition failed to find a solution for the bilingual district.
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