“This is not a war, but an unhappy marriage.”
The leader of the Belgian separatists Gerolf Annemans - about why he is waiting for the collapse of his state and what was the failure of the EU actions in Ukraine
The north and south of Belgium must become two different countries, the leader of the Flemish Interest party, Gerolph Annemans, is sure. For more than 25 years, he has represented a party in the Belgian parliament that advocates the secession of Flanders.
Annemans is considered an excellent speaker, his book “The Peaceful Section of Belgium” became a bestseller in the country and went through four editions; he regularly publishes articles about the future of Flanders and Europe as a whole. In one of them, he argues that Europe, as a result of its historical development, will come to "the disintegration of old, artificial state formations and the emergence of new independent national states based on the idea of freedom and only freedom."
Belgium has always been divided into two parts: Flanders in the north speaks Dutch, Wallonia in the south speaks French. This is due to history: Roman tribes originally settled in the south and always had strong French influence, and the descendants of Germanic tribes in the north actively resisted it. And although for some time the whole territory of Belgium was a French possession, the Flemish remained a commitment to their language and a different mentality from the Walloons. In Flanders and Wallonia there are separate parliaments and governments, different parties are fighting for power. Flanders managed to develop the service sector, tourism and high-tech industries, including pharmaceutical. The economy of Wallonia, which in the past relied on coal mining and metallurgy, is in much worse shape and needs financial investments from the north.
It is not surprising that the idea of secession of Flanders is popular in the north: the moderately nationalist party “New Flemish Alliance” consistently wins the election from the year 2007. The “Flemish interest”, which is traditionally more radical both in matters of separatism and in matters of migration policy, is doing much worse. With 1989, the remaining parties in Flanders refuse to join with him in a coalition: in the past, FI members were famous for their harsh nationalism. Over time, their rhetoric softened, and in 2003 – 2010, the party held its representatives in the Flemish Parliament before 18 (there were only 88 deputies in the parliament) and had two or three seats in the European Parliament. However, the election of 2014 of the year was a failure: “Flemish interest” got only three mandates for the whole of Belgium and one for the European Parliament.
Gerolf Annemans told the Russian Planet why he still believes that the disintegration of Belgium will benefit her.
- Where do you see the problem of the coexistence of Flanders and Wallonia in one state?
- In all. In foreign policy, in economics, justice and security issues, everywhere one has to make a compromise between two different nations, who think differently about almost everything. The last elections in Belgium showed that the Flemings think in a completely different way, in a less socialist spirit than the Walloons, they are more liberal and encourage free enterprise (in the parliamentary elections 2014 of the year in Flanders, the first places were taken by the parties of the Conservatives and Christian Democrats, in Wallonia their by a large margin went around the Socialist Party (RP).
Protest Party "Flemish Interest", 2013 year. Photo: AP
To make any decisions of the federal government, a compromise is needed between Flanders and Wallonia, and this is disgusting for the Flemish. The last federal government, under the influence of the Walloons, was forced to adopt a law that turned Belgium into the country with the most severe tax regime in Europe. In Wallonia, the Socialist Party and political forces close to it, which stand for high taxation, are strong. They also support the preservation of a unified Belgian state, because Flanders annually sends € 1,6 billion to Walloon as social assistance and to pay public debt (information on transfers within Belgium can be viewed on Trends.be. - RP).
“But there are economic ties between the two parts of the country, if a single state collapses, will its parts be able to maintain their own welfare separately?”
- We have good relations with neighboring countries, with Holland, for example. And there is a big difference between being in one state, when every day you have to make compromises about everything, and being good neighbors and friends. This is not a war, it is just a marriage that has exhausted itself. Sometimes in such cases divorce is the best solution. We could have a good relationship and cooperate in various fields. And I think that as soon as the Walloons take full responsibility for their future, they will take fewer socialist decisions. Now the Flemish are paying for everything, and this taught the Walloons to a policy that they could not pay for themselves.
- How many Flemish do you think now support the idea of separation? The last election was unsuccessful for you.
- Yes, this is due to the fact that many of our voters have gone to the "New Flemish Alliance." They are more moderate, but they are also opposed to Belgium being preserved in its current form. And this means that even moderate voters voted for greater independence of Flanders.
- How would you characterize your electorate?
- These are Flemish patriots who want clear solutions to the problems of Belgium, in particular, the problems of emigration. Most journalists and sociologists want to define my electorate as stupid, uneducated, and backward people — I disagree with that.
- Have you done any own research?
- No, it is not easy to do, because people do not like to say that they are for the "Flemish interest."
Split Belgium badge in the Belgian Parliament deputy, 2010 year. Photo: Thierry Charlier / AP
- The situation in Ukraine is now somewhat similar to the Belgian one. Do you follow the events there?
- I think the European Union has gone too far, trying to involve Ukraine in the eurozone, not taking into account that Russians live there, and that it is a neighbor of Russia. Everything was done too hastily. The problem began with the fact that the EU offered to sign an association agreement for Ukraine, and for the Russians it was a sign that it was time to wake up. We should not have allowed this, it was necessary to behave more carefully.
- If in the foreseeable future the separation of Flanders and Wallonia really happens, how will this be done?
- I wrote about this whole book "Peace section of Belgium." I do not recommend holding a referendum, because, as we can see from the experience of Canada and Catalonia, such referendums are usually broken or not recognized by the country's constitutional court. The decision on secession from Belgium must be made in the Flemish Parliament. After this, new elections must confirm the correctness of this decision. The next step will be the formation of the Flemish Republic, and, of course, the referendum in Flanders will confirm this. The Walloons should not decide the fate of Flanders independence. It's like a divorce: one of the spouses decides that they need to break up, and the marriage no longer exists.
- Now your presence in the Belgian and the European Parliament is very weak. What are you planning to do, what is your strategy?
- I am going to resign from the post of party president and allow the new generation to lead it. It is necessary to restructure and rejuvenate the party. We suffered an impressive defeat, but we are still a strong party, including in the European Parliament. We can still observe what the New Flemish Alliance is doing and criticize it.
- Do you see Flanders as an independent state within the European Union?
- I do not support the idea of leaving the European Union, I would like to reconstruct it as a cooperation of countries, and not a unitary superstate. The trend of Europe in the 21st century is that there will be more EU member states formed on a more natural basis than now.
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