Berkley Center

On February 17 of last year, Belgium set a new record: at 249 days, it surpassed Iraq as the country to undergo the longest period without a government. This record-breaking period ended on December 6, when Elio Di Rupo swore in his new ministers after 541 days of negotiations. Belgium’s long period without a government is a testimony to its fragmented population and rugged past.

The last elections in Belgium took place in June 2010. Because the votes were spread out among numerous different political parties, the resulting parliament was so polarized that it took up until two months ago for it to agree on a budget. In fact, they only crafted the budget after being threatened with sanctions from the European Union. The underlying problem in the government’s division is a dispute over language rights in a bilingual voting district.

Belgium is currently comprised of three regions: Flemish-speaking Flanders, French-speaking Wallonia, and officially bilingual Brussels. Its history dates back to 1830, when the country was founded as a French-speaking entity under King Leopold I. The territory had previously belonged to different kingdoms and empires, such as those of Spain, Austria, the Netherlands, and obviously France. Before the agreement on territorial languages in 1932, there had been a strong inequality between the usage of French and Flemish, the first being the “high” language of the state, while the latter was the “low” language of the people.

Belgium remained in this state of diglossia for over a century. The French-speaking elite took over prestigious professions, driving Wallonia toward rapid urbanization. It was not until the twentieth century that Flanders started to undergo economic modernization. Up until the official territorial separation of languages in Belgium, the Flemish continually fought for the equal rights of their language, which remained officially inferior despite the fact that Flanders comprised a majority of the country’s territory.

Fearing the growth in Flanders’ population and prosperity, French speakers voted against bilingualism in favor of monolingual territories in 1932. The only region that remains officially bilingual is the capital city. Because of the country’s two official languages, the Belgian people experience practical difficulties everyday.

If the country had not continued to be linguistically divided, it would have fostered stronger cultural cohesiveness between Belgium’s two distinct people groups. Since this is not the case, however, the workings of the federal government are made especially complicated, oftentimes resulting in unsolvable problems.

After 18 months of leading negotiations between Belgium’s major political parties, Di Rupo became the first French-speaking prime minister in over 30 years. Perhaps even more distinguishing than this, however, is the fact that Di Rupo is the first Belgian head of government to be both openly homosexual and have direct Italian descent. It is clear that he is vastly different from Belgium’s past leaders and brings a new face to the country’s national government.

The issue of language appears once again in this scenario. The people of Flanders were notably shaken up by Di Rupo’s ascension to the ministry, especially considering the fact that he is unable to clearly communicate in Flemish. Although the current government is functioning, it goes without saying that the Flemish speakers once again feel that they are in a position of inferiority.

For the time being, the Belgian government has managed to suppress these nagging problems. It is only a matter of time, however, until the issue of language once again becomes increasingly pronounced. By voting against national bilingualism in 1932, the Belgians perpetuated an environment of incessant regional differences. This makes the question of national cohesion evermore complicated. Let us only hope that Di Rupo’s government is able to maintain stability, and that the Belgian people never suppress the memory of their recent history.