How Long Until the Borders Close? Belgians Issued Iodine Pills

Telegraph: All Belgian residents issued with iodine tablets to protect against radiation

The entire population of Belgium is to be issued with a ration of iodine tablets, months after warnings about the threat of Isil building a dirty bomb.

...It emerged following last month’s terrorist attacks that an Isil cell may have been plotting to kidnap a nuclear expert in order to build a “dirty bomb”. Eleven nuclear workers had their passes revoked.

Following on the Heels of India, Europe to Swing Right

Aside from the bigoted menace in the UK, France is slated to deliver an election victory to the National Front in this week's European elections.

In Finland, the True Finns are slated to pick up seats. One candidate slated to win big is Jussi Halla-aho:

On 27 March 2009, the Helsinki District Court ordered Halla-aho to trial on charges of ethnic agitation as well as breach of the sanctity of religion. The charges arose after Halla-aho posted remarks related to the sentencing of Seppo Lehto on his blog Scripta. In the course of the remarks, Halla-aho said the prophet Muhammad was a paedophile, and Islam is a religion of paedophilia, because Muhammad had intercourse with his 9-year-old wife and according to Sunnah, Mohammed's life is exemplary in every way. He also asked if it could be stated that robbing passersby and living on taxpayers' expense are cultural and possibly genetic characteristics of Somalis. This was stated in sarcastic response to a Finnish columnist who wrote that drinking excessively and fighting when drunk were cultural and possibly genetic characteristics of Finns.[31][32]

On 8 September 2009, the District Court convicted Halla-aho of disturbing religious worship, and ordered him to pay a fine of 330 euros.[33] The charge of ethnic agitation was dismissed. In October 2010 the Court of Appeal agreed with the District Court's conviction.[34] Both the prosecutor and Halla-aho appealed the case to the Supreme Court.[35] The Supreme Court granted a leave to appeal in May 2011.[36] In a sentence given on the 8 of June 2012, the Supreme Court found Halla-aho guilty of both disturbing religious worship and ethnic agitation and increased his fines accordingly.[37]

In Poland: the Polish party that wants to turn EC building in Brussels into brothel

A Polish political party whose leader has called for the restoration of Poland's monarchy, an end to universal suffrage and for the European Commission building in Brussels to be converted into a brothel is on the verge of winning seats in the European parliament.

Polls ahead of this month's European elections have put the New Right Party, led by Janusz Korwin-Mikke, on six per cent, which might be enough to secure it seven seats.

Regarded as a flamboyant eccentric, Mr Korwin-Mikke's radical views have long confined him to the far fringes of Polish politics, and his party holds no seats in the national parliament.

But it looks as if he has now tapped into a pool of anti-European sentiment in Poland that has been bolstered by an increasing number of young voters who have grown weary of the traditional order, and want an extreme alternative.

Although they are a fringe party, the leading parties in Poland are the center and right-wing parties. The right (Law and Justice) appeared headed to victory, but the situation in Ukraine changed the debate. Main parties neck-and-neck as the Polish European election enters the final straight

Also: The Polish Electoral Matrix

On the other hand, the Law and Justice (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość, PiS) party and other rightist parties see the current situation as a test for Western Europe that will give Poland an answer as to whether the allies’ obligations are to be fulfilled. The Polish right’s general conclusion is that only close cooperation between the Central and Eastern European countries, as presented by the late Polish president Lech Kaczyński, can save the region from Russian imperialism. The governing Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelska PO) party definitely remains convinced of the benefits of EU membership. Being in the mainstream of EU integration and trying to persuade the Western partners to accept the Polish view on Ukraine are the main goals set by Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski.

Interestingly, security seems to dominate the EP campaign. Even Donald Tusk underlines this fact in the film that initiated the governing party’s election run. “What’s at stake during this election is security,” he says. Moreover, in his speech at the party’s EP election summit, he asked rhetorically, “Will Polish children go to schools on the first of September?” referring to the beginning of World War Two.

In Belgium: European Parliament Election: David Cameron may be forced into alliance with Europe's far-right

An alternative ally could be NVA, a separatist party pressing for Flanders to break away from Belgium, a link that would sit uncomfortably with the Tories’ fierce opposition to Scottish Nationalism.

Belgium won’t split after Sunday’s elections, but it could take a step in that direction

On May 25 Belgium will hold its regional, federal and European elections. Like in 2010, the centre-right and Flemish nationalist New Flemish Alliance (Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie or N-VA) is expected to be the strongest party both in Flanders and in Belgium as a whole – even though it is not part of the country’s six-party ruling coalition, led by social-democrat Elio Di Rupo. From this position of strength, the N-VA’s proposals are dominating the election debate.

The N-VA, under the decade-long leadership of Bart de Wever, stands for confederalism in the short term and independence in the long term. The party proposes that Belgium would have two autonomous entities –- Flanders and Wallonia –- and a bilingual capital, Brussels.

In Denmark: Danish Peoples Party tops poll ahead of EU elections

Following weeks of intense debate about child benefits for EU workers in Denmark, the eurosceptic and anti-immigrant Danish People's Party is now the most popular party with 27% support. It has overtaken the Social Democrats (23%) and the Liberals (21%), according to a poll by A&B Analyse for Altinget.dk.

As the graphic below shows, the far right is set to triple the turnout of the far-left. The center-right also looks set to defeat the center left. And if one considers that some left-wing parites, such as the SNP in Scotland are for independence, the tide of nationalism is stronger than it looks from the numbers.

Voters swing left, right in local European elections

The bigger story is in Belgium, where secessionists won a large victory.
Communists win Czech local elections

Czech voters have repudiated their centre-right government’s austerity policies, handing the left, including a resurgent Communist party, a striking victory in local elections that threatens the administration of Petr Necas, prime minister.

Mr Necas's Civic Democrats (ODS) won only 12.3 per cent of the vote in elections which ended on Saturday, about half the vote they took in regional elections four years ago – a sign of increasing voter dissatisfaction with policies of tax rises and spending cuts aimed at driving the deficit to 2.9 per cent of gross domestic product by 2013.

Secessionist wave sweeps Belgium

Flemish nationalists made sweeping gains across northern Belgium in local elections on Sunday, a success that will bolster separatists’ hopes for a break-up of the country.
Bart De Wever, leader of the New Flemish Alliance (NVA), is set to become mayor of the northern city of Antwerp, Belgium’s economic heartland, after his party emerged as the largest one ending about 90 years of socialist rule.

Soon after the ballot results emerged, Mr De Wever, who had turned the tough mayoral race into a referendum on Flander’s independence for Belgium, demanded that the country’s prime minister give greater independence to the Dutch-speaking north.

Dalrymple on Europe's crackup

The European Crack-Up

Reflection on the situation in tiny Belgium might introduce an element of doubt into the minds of the most fervent believers in the European Project. Belgium has existed ever since it was cobbled together in 1830; yet in all that time, it has not been able to create a durable national identity. One of its many prime ministers, Yves Leterme, once said that just three things held Belgium together: beer, soccer, and the king. As I write, Belgium has not had a central government for more than 500 days. While I must admit, as an occasional visitor to that country, that the difference between Belgium with and Belgium without a central government is not apparent on casual inspection, this interregnum may take the theory of limited government too far.

The reason that Belgium has lacked a government for so long is that the country is divided into two populations (actually three, but the third is too small to count) with incompatible politics: French-speaking Wallonia and Dutch-speaking Flanders. Belgium is officially bilingual, yet you see not a word of Dutch in Wallonia and not a word of French in Flanders. The division could not be starker if barbed wire separated the two provinces. Only in the capital, Brussels, does one find any concession to bilingualism.

He goes on to discuss the different cultural reactions to the crisis in Ireland and Greece, among others. A good read.

Belgium has a government

Belgium, at Last, Forms Government

Belgium's new cabinet will be sworn in by King Albert II on Tuesday, the royal palace said, ending a world-record 541 days without a federal government for the heavily indebted euro-zone country.

After 18 months of negotiations, Belgium finally formed a government. Let's see how it holds up.

Belgian breakup

Daniel Hannan has a favorable take on the leading Flemish politician.

The essential facts are these. The last Belgian general election, held on 13 June 2010, was won convincingly by a Flemish autonomist party, the N-VA, which wants a gradual evolution towards an independent Flanders. Its leader, Bart De Wever, is the most popular politician in the country, a quiz show maestro and an Anglophile, who cites Edmund Burke and Theodore Dalrymple among his influences. His party’s policy strikes the outside observer as remarkably moderate: he wants Flanders to assume more control over its internal affairs – a process which might, in time, lead to full statehood.

Flemish leader doesn't want to split Belgium

Flemish leader rejects splitting Belgium

"Everybody thinks I want this, but I think it's not good because we're going to lose our prosperity if we launch into an adventure in which nobody knows how it will end," he said.

He likened bilingual capital Brussels, a largely francophone city located in Flemish territory, to the glue binding the two regions. The fate of areas on its periphery is among the sticking points in the current crisis.

"To say we can cut (the country) is simplistic and dangerous," de Wever added.

For now, the Flemish are happy if they are given more local control. This is a strong version of is happening in Arizona with immigration, and many other states with Obamacare. People are turning to smaller political units closer to home.

However, one has to wonder what happens in Belgium if they do lose their prosperity. At that point, there'd be much less to lose when splitting the country.