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Walloon Socialists Bury Their Heads in the Sand
09/28/2009 :: “Belgium is virtually bankrupt.” That is what Guy Vanhengel, the Belgian Minister of the Budget, told the Flemish newspaper De Standaard recently (Sept. 5, 2009). Mr. Vanhengel, a Flemish Liberal, used the interview to announce new taxes. Given that the Flemings, who constitute 60% of the Belgian population, pay 65% of Belgium’s taxes, new taxes mean that Flanders has to foot the bulk of the Belgian bill, while most of the money is spent in Wallonia.
For years the Vlaams Belang has been demanding that the tax-and-spend culture of the Walloon politicians stop. “If the Walloons refuse to cut back government expenditure, they have to pay their own bills instead of having the Flemings do so,” says Barbara Pas, a VB parliamentarian.
Sacrifice
The Socialist Party, which is the largest party in Wallonia and dominates the federal government, refuses, however, to change its disastrous policies. “A state cannot go bankrupt,” Elio Di Rupo, the leader of the Walloon Socialists told De Standaard (Sept. 14, 2009). “The budgetary problems are not disastrous. Of course, we are not allowed to burden future generations with debts, but people live here and now. We are not going to sacrifice people of here and now in the name of I do not know what, such as another economic problem or another bank crisis.”
According to Philippe Muyters, the minister of the Budget in the Flemish regional government, Flanders already accounted for 90% of the Belgian government’s savings in 2008 (De Standaard, Sept. 17, 2009)
“If the Walloon leaders want to bury their heads in the sand, that is fine with us,” says Mrs. Pas, ‘but the Vlaams Belang will not tolerate that the interests of future Flemish generations are sacrificed for the foolish behaviour of Wallonia’s Socialists. Flanders has to cut itself loose from Wallonia and become an independent nation as soon as possible.”
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