Political crisis in Belgium

Introduction

Belgium is facing a political crisis since 2007 because of the differing opinions on state reform, and in the enduring existence of the controversial electoral district of Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde (BHV).

To explain to you how our small country can be so complicated, we need to precise that Belgium is divided in three communities: the French speaking community, the Dutch speaking community, and the German speaking one. However, the German one is so small that we never hear of it even in Belgium. There are approximately 6 million people who speak Dutch and 4.5 million who speak French. Each community organises it's election but in the end, the government is formed by a coalition and is representative of the whole Belgium. There are also three regions: Flanders in the north, Wallonia in the south, and Brussels-Capital in the centre.

Historical backgrounds

Belgium is a country in which language is a major political issue. In the 19th and early 20th century, Flemings did not enjoy the same rights as French-speakers. When the country was founded in 1830 under a census voting system, only French-speakers could vote. French was the only language for political, administrative, judicial, educational and military purposes. A Flemish movement fought peacefully to gain equal rights, obtaining most of these.

The Industrial Revolution of the late 18th and the 19th century further accentuated the North-South division. Francophone Wallonia became an early industrial boom area, affluent and politically dominant. Dutch-speaking Flanders remained agricultural and was economically and politically outdistanced by Wallonia and the capital. The elite during the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century spoke French, even in the Dutch speaking area. In the 20th century, and particularly after the Second World War, Flanders saw an economic flowering while Wallonia became economically stagnant. As Flemings became more