The beginning of the end for Belgium?
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A party advocating independence for the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium - headed by a man dubbed "The Cannibal" - has scored a major win in yesterday's general election, further fuelling speculation that the divided country is on its last legs.
The New Flemish Alliance or NVA won 27 out of the 150 seats, making it the largest party in the Belgian parliament . With the Socialist Party from French-speaking Wallonia coming second by just one seat, the 13 June elections only served to consolidate the linguistic divisions that have been plaguing the country's politics.
Despite the long-running rivalries between French and Dutch speakers, this is the first time a separatist party has won more than a fringe vote.
Observers predict that the NVA's victory will mean the normally drawn-out coalition building process will be even more tricky than usual. In the longer term, some say that this week's election results could mean that Belgium as we know it may ultimately cease to exist.
New Flemish Alliance leader Bart de Wever - dubbed "The Cannibal" by the local press and not a man known for making compromises - did, however, sound a somewhat concilliatory tone as his election win became clear.
He indicated that he might throw his support behind a Walloon prime minister, on the condition that more power was granted to Flemish regions. "You don't have to like each other to work together," he noted pointedly.
Both Belgian voters and the EU are hoping the two sides will find a way to cooperate. The country has not escaped the ravages of the financial crisis and is in urgent need a stable goverment to tackle its spiralling public debt.
On top of this, the country takes over the rotating EU presidency on 1 July, at a moment when the bloc as a whole is looking for leadership to guide it through the economic downturn . While Belgian officials insist they are up to the task - no matter how the domestic political negotiations go - it would certainly make everyone's life easier if there were a national government in place.
Belgium
There is a large mistake made by the journalist in the audio file.
At the celebration of his party he says "tomorrow we will wake up in a black-yellow Flanders". This means that there is a very large support for the N-VA. The conclusion that the journalist has made is totally wrong.
