As Dan contemplates the end of Belgium, via Wallonia’s rattachement to France, the Economist notes how the Flemish upped the ante in the national divorce stakes through “a bid by politicians from the Flemish majority to abolish the bilingual rights of 150,000 French-speakers who live in (otherwise Dutch-only) suburbs near Brussels. But by putting the plan to a vote in a parliamentary committee, Flemish leaders have broken the decades-old “Belgian pact”, under which the two language groups avoid holding a straight sectarian vote.” Hmmm… No chance our own Belgian inspired arrangements will settle into such gameless passive aggression? The Brussels Journal has much more detail.
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
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