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rfmcdonaldPaul Wells, writer for Canadian newsmagazine MacLean's, was the first person I read who pointed out that Luxembourg has been asked to solve Francophone Belgians' existential crises should Flanders leave.
The reaction of Luxembourg's prime minister was reported in greater detail by Belgium's Le Vif.
I'd mentioned earlier, in my series of brief reports on Belgium's recent crisis, about how the idea of a Franco-Dutch partition of a failed Belgium on language lines was quite popular in those two countries even though there was very little sign that that sort of a partition was popular among Belgians. Recently, more fantastical scenarios still have begun to appear. The suggestion that Luxembourg might take on Francophone Belgium is one. Another came from The Brussels Journal, a far-right English/Dutch weblog associated with Flemish nationalists, which recently suggested that after Flanders leaves Wallonia might fall apart. Not only, the weblog argued, was Belgium's Luxembourg province likely to merge with Luxembourg, reversing the 1839 partition of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg between a Francophone west that became Belgian and a Germanic rump in the east that remained placed under Dutch suzerainty until 1890, but the "conservative and Catholic" province of Namur is "likely" to join the Grand Duchy, leaving only the provinces of Hainaut and Liège (and, as the blogger forget, Brabant Wallon) inside Wallonia. Like Greater Luxembourg, this second schema has also started to seep into the mainstream media, never mind that there seems to be little interest in the idea of Luxembourg reunification and I've never heard of Namurois separatism.
All these scenarios for the future, eccentric as they might be, seem to reflect the scenario-makers' common interest in predicting the futre that they would like to see. Yes, France and the Netherlands will be enriched by their new common border; yes, without Flanders Wallonia will fall apart; yes, Luxembourg will be happy to handle everything for Wallonia and Brussels. The problem with this wish-fulfillment school of futurology is that, as a rule, it doesn't seem to work very well in the face of reality. Some might find that a pity, but that would be a mistake.
The other day a reporter asked the prime minister of Luxembourg whether he'd like to take over most of Belgium if that country should fall apart. Jean-Claude Juncker sounded surprised. He should, because his tiny grand duchy is less than one-sixth the combined size of Belgium's Wallonie and Brussels regions. Taking them over would be like the goldfish swallowing the cat.
The reaction of Luxembourg's prime minister was reported in greater detail by Belgium's Le Vif.
Le Premier ministre luxembourgeois, Jean-Claude Juncker, estime samedi, dans une interview au Soir, que la crise politique risque de faire subir une perte de crédibilité à la Belgique.
"La crédibilité européenne de la Belgique risque d'être mise à néant si on n'arrive pas à faire en sorte que ce pays se ressaisisse", dit Jean-Claude Juncker. Interrogé sur le scénario qui évoquait un rapprochement des Communautés française et germanophone avec le Luxembourg, M. Juncker le trouve étrange. "Le Grand-Duché n'a pas vocation à dépanner une Belgique qui se cherche. Je crois que la réponse à la question belge réside en Belgique", dit M. Juncker. "Sans vouloir interférer dans ce genre de débat belgo-belge, j'ai beaucoup de sympathie pour la réaction de la communauté wallonne et francophone face aux exigences flamandes. Mais il faudra que la Belgique se ressaisisse. Qu'elle donne vers l'extérieur l'image d'un pays le plus uni possible", dit M. Juncker.
Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, said Saturday, in an interview with the Soir, that the political crisis threatens Belgium's credibility.
"The European credibility of Belgium is at risk of being completely eliminated if no one bothers to put this country back together," said Jean-Claude Juncker. Asked about scenarios about uniting the French and Germanophone communities with Luxembourg, Mr. Juncker found them strange. "The Grand Duchy does not have vocation to repair Belgium which seeks itself. I believe that the answer to the Belgian question resides in Belgium," said Mr. Juncker.
I'd mentioned earlier, in my series of brief reports on Belgium's recent crisis, about how the idea of a Franco-Dutch partition of a failed Belgium on language lines was quite popular in those two countries even though there was very little sign that that sort of a partition was popular among Belgians. Recently, more fantastical scenarios still have begun to appear. The suggestion that Luxembourg might take on Francophone Belgium is one. Another came from The Brussels Journal, a far-right English/Dutch weblog associated with Flemish nationalists, which recently suggested that after Flanders leaves Wallonia might fall apart. Not only, the weblog argued, was Belgium's Luxembourg province likely to merge with Luxembourg, reversing the 1839 partition of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg between a Francophone west that became Belgian and a Germanic rump in the east that remained placed under Dutch suzerainty until 1890, but the "conservative and Catholic" province of Namur is "likely" to join the Grand Duchy, leaving only the provinces of Hainaut and Liège (and, as the blogger forget, Brabant Wallon) inside Wallonia. Like Greater Luxembourg, this second schema has also started to seep into the mainstream media, never mind that there seems to be little interest in the idea of Luxembourg reunification and I've never heard of Namurois separatism.
All these scenarios for the future, eccentric as they might be, seem to reflect the scenario-makers' common interest in predicting the futre that they would like to see. Yes, France and the Netherlands will be enriched by their new common border; yes, without Flanders Wallonia will fall apart; yes, Luxembourg will be happy to handle everything for Wallonia and Brussels. The problem with this wish-fulfillment school of futurology is that, as a rule, it doesn't seem to work very well in the face of reality. Some might find that a pity, but that would be a mistake.
