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Eendracht maakt macht : L'union fait la force
| ni'o lo gugde jufra po la belgik noi se nolraitru cu se fanva fu lu lo ka gunma kansi'u cu selja'e lo ka tsali li'u i pu zu lo masti be li ci loi jecta krati bu'u la belgik cu se cuxna i je ku'i lo go'i ca na ba'o kakne lo nu zbasu lo trugunma i ja'e bo za'u re'u se pensi fa lo du'u lo bi'u nai se nolraitru ba se fendi ju'o cu'i fi lo natmi i to'u nai da'i la vlanderen fa'u la ualonis zdani loi selbau be lo bangrnederlanda be'o ku fa'u loi selbau be lo fasybau i je la brusel se tcini lo nalfadni i lo bi'u nai nuzba cu cinri i ku'i da'i nai lo'e ricfu gugde na na'o se fendi i lo nu na go'i cu se casnu loi kadno e loi spano e loi selgu'e be la italias be'o e loi brito gi'e ku'i no roi se gasnu i to'e ki'u nai bo la'e de'u zdile i da friti lo nu vecnu la belgik kei ma'i la'o zoi eBay zoi gi'e ba bo pa re'u te friti lo ronru'u be li pa no ki'o ki'o |  The motto of the Kingdom of Belgium means "Strength through unity". It's been three months since the elections in Belgium & still they haven't been able to form a government. This has led to renewed speculation that the kingdom will splinter along ethnic lines: Flanders for the Dutch-speaking Flemings, Wallonia for the French-speaking Walloons, & some special status for Brussels.It's a good story, but in reality wealthy countries don't split. They talk about it – in Canada, Spain, Italy, the U.K. – but it never happens. That doesn't mean it's not fun. Someone offered Belgium for sale on eBay & received an initial bid of €10 million. |
posted by komfo,amonan | 00:07
9 Comments:
I just watched a 1968 French/Belgian film (Un Soir, Un Train) set against a background of Walloon demonstrations and political polarization. That's around the same time that Quebec was all about separatism - I suppose the era lent itself to such confrontations.
Yeah, in 1968 you saw unrest from San Francisco to Prague at least. Similarly, in 1848 just about every country in Europe erupted, plus Brazil. Who can explain these things except the astrologers? What will 2088 bring us?
I saw a Walloon demonstration at a kid's party once. It was cool--he tied some Walloons into cats, monkeys, flowers.
Living dangerously! You know better than to poke a Walloon with a stick.
From my perspective -- and that of other people who support small countries and decentralisation -- secession in rich countries is the great unspoken issue of modern politics. It hasn't happened much lately, .iesai. The world has gotten used to it not happening. That's why the events in Quebec in the 90s are so important -- secession came close to becoming a reality, or, at least, an issue too pressing for anyone to ignore (the head of Parti Quebecois stated that he would have declared unilateral indepence if they had gotten a majority in the referendun; hard to say whether it would really have resulted in independence). If one such region of a 1st world country ever succeeds in seceding, it will be an enormous encouragement to disgruntled regions in other countries to seek the same course. I predict that the 21st century will be a happier and more peaceful one if this happens than if it doesn't.
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[Rewrite of deleted comment:] I had the sense Canada might well have split if Quebec wanted to leave. Canadians I spoke to felt that the process was draining the national energy, and wished for a speedy resolution, regardless of outcome.
Don't hold your breath on a first world crack-up, though. I think prosperity & state cohesion are linked. Prosperous people tend to support the status quo, under the perception that it has contributed to their prosperity. Also, the prosperous tend to be less bothered about identity politics... or the converse: nationalism tends to be sold to the struggling. These are broad generalizations, to be sure, and I'm happy to be dissuaded.
I guess the UK was prosperous when Ireland left it. So that's a counterexample.
.i mi gleki le nu do te pinka .ui
I enjoyed reading your post. :)
ki'e myngodjelis
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