...in Flanders, the prosperous Dutch-speaking half of the fiercely divided nation. A stunning electoral success for Bart de Wever's Flemish nationalist party marks a significant new challenge to the fragile unity of a country where tensions between French and Dutch speakers run deep. Scheduled to take over the rotating presidency of the European Union in less than three weeks, Belgium will now do so with a caretaker administration and facing months of tortuous negotiations to put together a coalition government. "We are close to the abyss," said Lieven De Winter, professor of politics at the Université Catholique de Louvain, who described Mr. De Wever's win as a landslide. "Whether we are five meters or five centimeters away is difficult to say. But Belgians are at a crossroads where they are making a choice on whether they want to live together or not."
Thanks for the Ping.
This is a Protestant/Catholic divide as well.
What about the King of the Belgians? What would happen to him? The troubles have accelerated since the death of King Baudouin, a beloved figure in all of Belgium. His brother, Albert, is now King of the Belgians, and has a dunce of a son as crown prince who would inherit.