Belgium

I

Crises of Empire and Nation

In 1960 uprisings in the Belgian Congo forced Belgium to withdraw from its African empire. On June 30, 1960, King Baudouin proclaimed the independence of the colony (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC). In 1962 the Belgian-administered UN trust territory of Ruanda-Urundi achieved independence as two states, Rwanda and Burundi. The Belgian Congo was a source of great wealth for Belgium, especially for a few large companies, in which the Belgian government also had substantial shares. The loss of the Congo caused economic hardship in Belgium.

To strengthen the economy, the Belgian government instituted an austerity program in the early 1960s. The Socialists called for a general strike and violence erupted, particularly in the Walloon south. Although the strike was called off, the crisis had sharpened the differences between Flemings and Walloons. Socialist leaders proposed that the unitary state of Belgium be replaced by a loose federation of three regions—Flanders, Wallonia, and the area around Brussels.

New laws in 1962 and 1963 established official language frontiers, but the problem was not that easily solved. Both Flemish and Walloon workers protested discrimination in employment, and disturbances broke out at the universities of Brussels and Leuven, which eventually split into separate Dutch-speaking and French-speaking institutions. Although during the 1960s the Christian Social and Socialist parties remained the major contenders for power, both Flemish and Walloon federalists continued to make gains in the general elections, principally at the expense of the Liberal Party. Eventually separate Flemish and Walloon ministries were created for education, culture, and economic development. Finally, in 1971, the constitution was revised to prepare the way for regional autonomy in most economic and cultural affairs.

Despite this reversal of a long-standing policy of centralization, the federalist parties opposed the revisions on the grounds that they did not go far enough. Moreover, repeated efforts to transfer actual legislative authority to regional bodies were blocked by disagreements about the geographical extent of the Brussels region. In 1980 agreement was finally reached on the question of autonomy for Flanders and Wallonia.

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During the 1980s the Christian Democrat parties formed the cabinets, usually under the leadership of Wilfried Martens. In January 1989 parliament passed a devolution bill designed to transfer power from the central government to the three ethnolinguistic federal regions. Implementation of this law moved slowly, and the 1991 elections resulted in a reduced plurality for the Christian Democrats. Martens resigned as party leader, and his successor, Jean-Luc Dehaene, formed a new center-left government.

J

European Integration

Belgium moved to support increased economic and political cooperation in Europe by ratifying the Treaty on European Union, or the Maastricht Treaty, in the fall of 1992. In May 1993 Belgium approved the devolution process and it became a federal state with three regions—Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels—in July of that year. King Baudouin died on July 31, 1993, and was succeeded by his brother Albert, who ruled as Albert II. In parliamentary elections held in May 1995, Dehaene’s coalition was returned to power. Belgium took another step toward integrating with Europe in May 1998, when it officially agreed to replace its national currency with a new single European currency, the euro. The euro was introduced in 1999 and entirely replaced the Belgian currency, along with the currencies of other European nations participating in the single currency, in early 2002.

K

Recent Events

Dehaene’s center-left coalition suffered a major defeat in parliamentary elections in June 1999, a defeat attributed to rising public anger over a food contamination scandal. The government had revealed in May that a wide variety of Belgian foodstuffs might have been contaminated by the cancer-causing chemical dioxin. Officials reportedly allowed more than a month to pass before warning the public about health risks. The contamination led to the banning of many Belgian food exports by the European Union (EU) and cost the Belgian economy hundreds of millions of dollars.

A center-right coalition led by the Liberal parties took office in July 1999, and Liberal leader Guy Verhofstadt of the Flemish Liberal Democrats became prime minister. The formation of the new government, which also included the left-leaning Socialist parties and the environmentalist Green parties, marked the first time since 1958 that the Christian Democrats had been excluded from government. Verhofstadt and his coalition were returned to power following parliamentary elections in 2003. The government’s plan to raise the age at which Belgian workers could retire with full benefits led to strikes in late 2005.

In local elections held in 2000 a far-right party, Vlaams Blok (Flemish Block), achieved significant gains. The Vlaams Blok wants independence for the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders and an end to immigration. In 2004 the Vlaams Blok was declared racist, deprived of funding, and subsequently disbanded. However, it reorganized under a new name. Meanwhile, disputes over Belgium’s language boundaries continued in the early 2000s.

In parliamentary elections in June 2007, Verhofstadt’s party suffered a crushing defeat, coming in fourth place, and Verhofstadt resigned as prime minister. The Flemish Christian Democrats emerged as the single largest party and its leader, Yves Leterme, was nominated to form a coalition government. However, ensuing rounds of coalition talks repeatedly broke down as the French-speaking politicians of Wallonia rejected Leterme’s plans to give more autonomy to the regions.

The country remained mired in political deadlock until March 2008, when marathon talks led to the formation of a five-party coalition government headed by Leterme. Leterme offered his resignation in June after failing to get support for a plan to devolve power to the regions. Belgium’s king, Albert II, refused to accept the resignation, and Leterme remained in office. In December 2008 Leterme again tendered his resignation, this time due to a dispute over the government’s acquisition of Fortis Bank, one of the European banks hardest hit by the global financial crisis. The king accepted the resignation this time but asked Leterme to remain as the head of a caretaker government until former prime minister Wilfried Martens could help fashion a new government. In January 2009 Belgian politician Herman Van Rompuy was named prime minister, heading the same five-party coalition assembled by Leterme. Van Rompuy also retained most of Leterme’s cabinet and promised to follow the same policies.

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