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| Party seeking Belgium's dissolution may win |
| Brussels, 15.06.2010 |
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| Published: 3:19PM Sunday June 13, 2010
Source: Reuters
Belgians voted in a parliamentary election on Sunday for a government that could move towards breaking up the country and that will need to curb the third-highest debt ratio in Europe.
The Flemish separatist N-VA (New Flemish Alliance), which advocates the gradual dissolution of Belgium, is forecast to be the largest party in Dutch-speaking Flanders and possibly the country.
"The ballot box question is not whether but by how much the N-VA will win," said Dutch-language newspaper De Morgen.
Voting runs until 0100 NZT, with the first results expected within about an hour and a clear picture developing from early evening.
N-VA leader Bart De Wever may be victorious, but he will not be able to start devolving powers to the regions immediately.
The electoral system - effectively two elections with separate parties seeking votes from French-speakers and the majority Dutch-speakers - means at least four parties will be needed to form a governing coalition.
De Wever has said he is open to a French-speaker - most likely socialist leader Elio Di Rupo - becoming prime minister for the first time in 36 years if that would deliver greater autonomy for Flanders.
This is the first federal election from which a party advocating the end of Belgium could emerge the winner, although the N-VA were allies of the Christian Democrats in 2007.
The party's lead in opinion polls has triggered a nationwide debate about the possible break-up of the 180-year-old nation, with Flanders and French-speaking Wallonia going their separate ways.
"The Belgians play with their future," said francophone newspaper La Libre Belgique on Saturday.
Drawn-out talks
Analysts draw comparisons between De Wever and Yves Leterme, the Christian Democrat who won the 2007 election on a pledge to win more powers for Flanders.
Leterme took nine months to form his five-party government and offered his resignation three times in as many years.
He finally fell after a dispute between Dutch- and French-speakers over the arcane, but emotive issue, of the electoral boundaries around Brussels.
In the midst of a euro zone crisis, with financial speculators ready to attack budgetary laggards, Belgium, a country of 10.6 million people, can ill afford drawn-out coalition talks.
Belgium's debt-to-GDP ratio, set to rise above 100% this year or next, is behind only Greece and Italy.
The debt has been a secondary issue to reform of the state in past weeks, although the N-VA's opponents have said its success could unsettle financial markets.
Damien Thiery, the French-speaking mayor of Linkebeek, just outside Brussels, said he did not favour the country splitting. "But it's something I could envisage in five to 10 years."
Roland Decroix, an IT specialist from Dutch-speaking Sterrebeek, said he did not believe Belgium would break up.
"But it's necessary to make concessions and I think we will have more a federation more like Switzerland," he said.
Some 7.7 million Belgians are eligible to vote. Voting is compulsory, with first-time offenders risking a fine of up to 55 euros ($95)
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