Netherlands and Belgium Hold Divisive Elections

The Netherlands and Belgium held elections this past week that showed these two sane and civilized countries are not without their divisions. In the Dutch elections, an anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim party did well. In Belgium, a Flemish-independence party won the largest bloc of seats in the parliament. In each case, the vote was not merely a protest against the current difficult economy. Both votes were about the long-term nature of each country.

In the case of the Netherlands, Jan Peter Balkende's Christian Democratic Party has led the government for the last eight years. On June 9, voters reduced his party from 41 seats to 21 seats in the Dutch legislature. He resigned both as PM and party leader. The centre-right Liberal Party topped the Dutch Labor Party with 31 seats to 30. Where the concern arises is in the third-place finish of the Party for Freedom, which took 24 seats. It will take a coalition of 76 seats to form a government.

Geert Wilders, leader of the Party of Freedom, has been banned from the UK for his anti-Islamic statements, for example comparing the Koran to Mein Kampf. He said in the election campaign, "The leftist elite still believes in multi-culturalism, coddling criminals, a European super-state and high taxes, But the rest of the Netherlands thinks differently. That silent majority now has a voice." Actually, one believes that most of the Netherlands disagree (after all, most Dutch voters didn't vote for his party); however, his success calls into question the traditional Dutch tolerance for others.

Mr. Wilders argues that the Islamic community of immigrants have not assimilated terribly well and that they have a duty to become Dutch rather than for the Dutch to accommodate them. While hard economic times always increase the vote for people like Mr. Wilders, the situation in the Netherlands is such that this debate had to happen thanks to the murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh who dared to criticize Islamic treatment of women in a film.

Across the border in Belgium, the nation voted on Sunday, and the largest bloc of seats went to New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) which won 27 out 150 seats. The N-VA ultimately wants the Flemish-speaking north to become independent of the French-speaking south known as Wallonia. The second largest party were the Socialists, who are largely Walloons and who want to keep the country together (one should note that money in Belgium flows north to south via government benefits).

Bart De Wever, head of the N-VA, has ended his campaign by saying, ''We do not want a revolution. We do not want to declare Flanders independent overnight. But we do believe in gradual evolution." He is speaking to an audience that largely believes in greater power for the Flemings in Flanders. RTL, the Luxembourg broadcasting group, polled Flanders and found that 32% want independence immediately, 17% are ok with a "confederation" with Wallonia, and 25% want greater autonomy in Belgium. In short, 74% of the Flemish-speakers want something different. In the face of this kind of sentiment, Belgium may someday become merely a geographic term rather than a country.

In both cases, the political establishments face pressures that must be addressed not with resistance but with wise concessions. Failure to do so means the pressures will continue to build, and in the end, that will make a resolution harder to achieve. The status quo in both countries is a something many nations can only dream of having. The powers that be ought not to endanger either situation with intransigence. Giving a little to protect a lot is the best policy.

© Copyright 2010 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.

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