Secessionist Movements Expand from Scotland, Catalonia, & Venice to Belgium

As the economic situation continues to worsen in Europe, secessionist movements are on the rise and the latest addition is Belgium.

Secessionist Wave Sweeps Belgium Ending 90 Years of Socialist Rule in Antwerp

Flemish nationalists made sweeping gains across northern Belgium in local elections on Sunday, a success that will bolster separatists’ hopes for a break-up of the country.

Bart De Wever, leader of the New Flemish Alliance (NVA), is set to become mayor of the northern city of Antwerp, Belgium’s economic heartland, after his party emerged as the largest one ending about 90 years of socialist rule.

Soon after the ballot results emerged, Mr De Wever, who had turned the tough mayoral race into a referendum on Flander’s independence for Belgium, demanded that the country’s prime minister give greater independence to the Dutch-speaking north.

Flanders, which is the most economically prosperous region of Belgium, has long resented financing the ailing economy of French-speaking Wallonia, and Sunday’s victory will strengthen their demand for self-rule.

Belgium is a monarchy with a landmass about the size of Maryland. The nation is divided between the Dutch speaking Flemish folks in the north (Flanders) and the French speaking Walloons in the south (Wallonia).  The Dutch north is very prosperous unlike their largely entitlement dependent countrymen in Wallonia.  For a lot of years, the Dutch were extremely tolerant of Belgium socialism that largely transferred wealth from the productive Dutch speaking north to the French speaking south.  However, troubles have been brewing for quite some time as the Dutch continue to amass political power at the ballot box.  The Dutch claim the Walloons are lazy freeloaders who suck up tax dollars without making any economic contributions.  Meanwhile, the socialist Walloons scream for more and more socialism.

It's a serious situation because the European Union, known as the Throne in Brussels, is headquartered in Brussels.  Hence, the sovereignty loving and prosperous Dutch hold the potential to collapse the EU and the Dutch king has even accused Dutch liberty activist citizens of being ignorant as documented in a 7/11 article from The Telegraph.

Squabbles between Flemish and Walloons could bring down EU, warns Belgian king

Banging the table during Wednesday's broadcast from his castle just outside Brussels, the king castigated "ignorant" voters and painted a pessimistic picture of the divisions between Dutch and French speaking communities.

"Our current situation is a cause for concern among our partners and could damage our position in Europe, and even the momentum towards European integration which has already been undermined by populism and Euroscepticism," he said.

King Albert has been horrified by the result of elections last June when a majority of voters in Flanders, the richer Dutch-speaking north of Belgium, supported Flemish separatists, who support the eventual break-up of Belgium and abolition of the monarchy.

"The actual crisis is showing the population's ignorance of politics but doesn't resolve the current problems. The risk is that we are going to have a kind of [populism] which would throw democracy into question," said the 77-year old king.

What? LOL, abolish the monarchy? What a splendid idea!! What is so utterly refreshing is that even folks in Europe are beginning to reject the rule of the elites and their tyranny. Reason.com also chirped in on the ongoing issue of the Dutch vs. the socialist Walloons in 6/10.

 "Let's Not Call Them Anything, Let's Just Ignore Them"

During the election Wallonia's socialist leader, Elio di Rupo, ignored Europe's economic crisis by calling for ever more transfers from Flanders, for higher state spending on health and pensions and for price controls on food. Belgium is thus a microcosm of the EU, a treaty state in which political entities claim resources by territorial negotiation. The result was inevitable. Just as German taxpayers are finally fed up with subsidising Greek pensioners, so Flemings are fed up with subsidising Walloons....

Maybe it's time to just give French speaking Wallonia back to the French, something advocated by Marine Le Pen, a right wing French politician, here.

By the way, exactly how did Wallonia become part of Belgium?  The area has a long history dating all the way back to being a component of the Roman and Spanish Empires but the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 resulted in Wallonia being merged into the Netherlands.  However, a Belgium Revolution in 1830 created the modern nation state of Belgium in 1831.  Not surprisingly, the Belgium Revolution was triggered by a religious differences as the Netherlands king was a Calvinist and the Belgians were Catholic.

Regardless of what happens in Belgium in the context of the ongoing battle between the Dutch and the Walloons, what is becoming clearly evident is that folks are becoming increasingly fearful of the global economic situation, the European Union and the Troika.  Moreover, societies sharing a language, culture and economic interests are extremely motivated to become protective of their own tribe and tribal interests.  Meanwhile, the great vat of humanity and its collectivist experiment under authoritarian bureaucratic rule is failing everywhere.   It's failing economically, fiscally, socially, culturally and morally.

As prosperity continues to weaken everywhere, expect forced statist altruism to fly out the window and survival instincts to kick in.