LL-L "Government" 2008.03.16 (04) [E]

Sun Mar 16 18:25:59 UTC 2008

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From: Roger Thijs, Euro-Support, Inc. <roger.thijs at euro-support.be>
Subject: LL-L "Government" 2008.03.15 (05) [E]

 > From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Government
> I don't know if the portfolio is always the same or if this is Bert
Anciaux's specific mix. What comes to mind is this:
Brussels is treated as it's own area, where "Flemish," "Walloon" and
"German" Belgium coexist.

Hi Ron,

It was a pleasure to meet you in Seattle.

As to the competences of ministers in Belgium.

The administrative structure in this country is:

- 1 - Federal: King, *Federal Government,* Two  Houses of parliament
(Chambre & Senat)
- 2 - Regional & Cultural (parallel levels) with *Governments* and elected
bodies (parliament)
  Basically:
  - *Regions*: *Flanders*, Wallonia and the Capital Region of Brussels
  - *Cultural area's*: "*Flanders + Dutch speaking Brussels*", "Wallonia +
French speaking Brussels", German speaking area (in the Wallonia Region)
- 3 - Provinces: with an *appointed governor, elected "deputees"* governing
dedicated matters. They have an elected council (provincieraad kind of
parliament)
- 4 - Arrondissements: a subdivision in the province, no government nor
elected body; the arrondissementscommissaris, reporting to the governor of
the province, may be appointed to interfere in linguistic matters (as has
happened in Voeren and in Schaarbeek)
- 5 - Cantons: a subdivision of the arrondissement, no government nor
elected body (size similar to the German Kreis). Lowest level of justice
(Justice of Peace and Police Courts), lowest level of election circuits
- 6 - Municipality, with an appointed burgomaster, generally from within the
elected councelers, a kind of government "*college van burgermeester en
schepenen (aldermen)"* and an elected council ("gemeenteraad")

The governments and councils of the "*Flemish region*" and the "*Dutch
language cultural area*" *merged*, which give it *certain cultural
competences over Brussels* (as e.g. Dutch language education). From the
French side there has *not been a parallel merger operation*.
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlaamse_Raad
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlaamse_regering
merging competences for:
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlaamse_Gemeenschap
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlaams_Gewest

The Brussels capital region
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brussels_Hoofdstedelijk_Gewest
got/kept competence for some residual cultural matters,
and complementarty to its proper council
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brusselse_Hoofdstedelijke_Regering
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brussels_Hoofdstedelijk_Parlement
has its own cultural commissions:
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlaamse_Gemeenschapscommissie
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/COCOF
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemeenschappelijke_Gemeenschapscommissie
The competences are *assymmetric*, depending of different delegations of
authority from the Dutch and the French sides.

The Brussels capital region coincides with its own arrondissement
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrondissement_Brussel-Hoofdstad
and absorbed all Brussels provincial competences
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provincies_van_België<http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provincies_van_Belgi%C3%AB>

For parliamentary elections the arrondissements Halle-Vilvoorde (Flemish)
and Brussels are still merged as a single election district. This allows the
French to get votes in the Brussels border area (but also reïnforces the
position of Flemish voters in Brussels). The split of this election circuit
is one of the hot issues in this country.

Politically, Belgium had, in the beginning of the 20th century, 3 main
political families:
- *christian-democrats*, considered in the middle
- *socialists*, considered at the left
- *liberals,* considered a bit to the right
Before 1965 governments were mostly combinations of 2 of these 3.
After 1965 (split of the Leuven university) these three parties have been
split in Flemish and Walloon parties.

Further *regional parties* came into the picture and participated at some
governments. Some of these parties have later been absorbed by the
mainstream parties, forcing these though into a more regionalistic position.
Since all governments in this country (except for some municipal
governments) are *coalition governments*, competences are divided and split
during the negotiations of government formation.

So for the Brussels case one has to consider at first which Brussels
cultural matters are *competence of Flanders* and which ones are *competence
of Brussels itself,* plus see how the cake in each government is divided
between the particîpating political parties. This often leads to other
combinations than a logic of consistence of content would lead to.

Btw. Bert Anciaux (following his father Vic Anciaux in politics)
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bert_Anciaux
belonged to the Flemish regional party "*Volksunie*" before it was split up
in "Spirit" and "NVA".
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volksunie
Anciaux went with "*Spîrit*".
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit
Spirit forms joint lists ("cartel" lists) with the Flemish socialists in
Flanders and in Brussels.

The flexibility of the "Volksunie" at the occasion of the negotiations known
as Egmontpact:
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egmontpact
leaded to a split off of Flemish radicals, forming the "Vlaams Blok", which
was later qualified as racist.

*Flemish government:*
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regering-Peeters_I
(History of composition: http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlaamse_regering)
*Ceyssens* was in Seattle (you met her)
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patricia_Ceysens
**
*Brussels government:*
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brusselse_regering
Its former president *de Donnea* was in Seattle:
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/François-Xavier_de_Donnea<http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois-Xavier_de_Donnea>

*Walloon government:*
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waalse_regering
was represented in Seattle by *Marcourt*
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Claude_Marcourt

*For the federal government* (transitional government)
*de Gucht* (foreign affairs) participated in Vancouver only:
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karel_De_Gucht

Regards,
Roger

PS.
- Ron I visited part of Lynden when returning from Vancouver. I saw some
little windmills in some gardens but not the big one you talked about. I
actually turned South at the Meridien Way (the street with a "mall" look
when it passes through Bellingham), and I realized afterwards that I should
have continued a bit further to the East.
Annoying is that European credit cards do not work at some gaz stations,
since you have to combine with a US zip code.
- I had had problems with my Tomtom in the morning, leading me
uphill-downhill into (a small) Broadway in Burnaby, while I was looking for
a shop on West Broadway in Vancouver. Finally at the wright place I spoiled
my shirt when picking up meat out of the soup with chopsticks in a Cambodian
restaurant, but fortunately I could buy a replacement shirt in a Korean shop
(I still had to go to a conference downtown in the afternoon). South
Vancouver is almost fully Asian.

----------

  From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Government

Thanks for the clarification, dear Roger. As all things Belgian it makes
one's head spin.

It's good to know you got back home all right.

And, yes, it was great spending time with you last Monday. Thanks for having
arranged that and for Santa Claus to make an early appearance. I have always
been taken by your kindness and generosity, and I don't only mean the large
bag full of great books you brought me. The way you orchestrated the
surprise shows that you care a lot, although you have an understated air
about it. So let me express my thanks to you again, also on behalf of the
rest of the Lowlanders who, like you, have been keeping the boat afloat and
making headway.

I don't know what happened in Lynden, but it sounds as though you never saw
the town center.

Anyway, it's great to have you back, Roger.

If you don't mind, I'll run my draft letter to Minister Anciaux by you when
it's done.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron
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