... I reacted to an article in the Wall Street Journal. The best parts were not published, but here follows a copy of some excerpts which were published.
Your editorial ... beats everything I have read recently, even in the Belgian press, which is not known for its high levels of professionalism. Apparently, being "free market" is enough to be forgiven everything else. ... Belgium 's problems are deeply serious, and may appear terminal to some. We have enormous problems to solve in the social, judicial, political and economic fields. The system appears highly corrupt, and its political class cowardly blind, ignoring the problems until they explode in their faces. ... Belgium needs to renovate its system and its society; to get rid of extremists on the left and on the right. There is no question about that. Some people believe that splitting the small dot on the map called Belgium into three smaller dots will solve these problems. At least one of the resulting midget states is expected to be better managed than Belgium is now. Surveys show that the "silent majority" of Belgians do not want this. However, political leaders continue to ignore this, and even conservatives are starting to fall into the separatist trap. Moreover, our political ring leaders do not have the courage to consult their constituencies on this and quarreling about splitting Belgium helps them avoid addressing the real issues facing the country. What worries me most is that all arguments that can feed the separatist mill are considered valid and common sense appears to have evaporated. It started in the Flemish political class and is now spreading in Wallonia, too. It is true that we are deeply dissatisfied with the political class that governs us, but those who believe that the same people will build better conditions in smaller states are utterly wrong.
Almost eleven years later, and one week before federal elections, has anything changed ?
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