To the future leader of my home country.
I am a Belgian living abroad. For months and months I have followed the political shenanigans happening in our gorgeous country from a side line. I know I'm not the most knowledgeable person when it comes to the discussions about state reform and language politics. What I do know is that I would like my country to still exist in a few years. And for some reason, I have never felt this pessimistic about that prognosis ever.
I don't feel like I'm Flemish (although I suppose I am), I am a Belgian. Ok, my french is not as good as I would like it to be and I have not been to too many Walloon places in my life, but I don't think I would be better off without that part of Belgium. I speak dutch with my family and my friends back home, but speaking that language doesn't mean that I want only Flemish statesmen to decide on laws, legislation etc for me.
My culture is one of "moules et frites", great beer, not so great football, hard work, enjoying the good things in life, being (sometimes a bit falsely) modest, appreciating good food and nice clothes, putting family first, joining a sports team linked to a local cafe,... If I'm not mistaken, that is something I share with all Belgians, not just the Flemish. So I don't want to hear the argument anymore that my language makes my culture. I'm much more like my Walloon neighbor than like my Neighbor in Maastricht on any day!
So many important things are happening in our country and the world today that I beg you to focus on those things first. A crisis in our economy, the problems in Europe with the Irish no, the environmental problems, the Olympics (!)... All this talk about a reform of the state has brought local politics to a place where people don't care anymore. A dangerous place, because then only the radical and extreme voices remain present.
I understand that there are some things that need sorting out in Brussels, but is that really the most important thing right now? If the politics of compromise doesn't work anymore in the extreme Belgian form, why are we talking about giving the regions even more responsibilities? Shouldn't we also look at the alternative? What if we would give the responsibility back to the federal government. No more compromise on everything, no more "a Euro here, then also a Euro there", but a sensible government with as a goal to manage a country and not several regions? I'm sure that our country with its great education, has produced intelligent, smart people in Belgium that could actually rule our nation with the best interest of the whole country in mind. Or is that too much of a Utopia?
Anyway, I hope that when you do take up the challenge of ruling this fine little place, you will keep in mind that there are people out there who care a lot about Belgium. Although some have argued that it's a natural occurrence, that if you look at the history of countries cobbled together by European powers they inevitably break down. Know that it would break my (and hopefully many other) heart(s) to see it go.
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