Belgian Francophones and Flemings More Alike

UNCLAS BRUSSELS 001172 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL SOCI BE SUBJECT: Belgian Francophones and Flemings More Alike than they Thought, Poll Shows ¶1. Summary: Joint polling by French-language and Dutch- language newspapers in Belgium has revealed interesting trends in Flemish, Walloon, and Bruxellois thinking about their fellow citizens. Some of the results were unsurprising: Dutch-speakers were considered by most respondents as being generally racist, industrious, and conservative. Most of those polled from all three regions considered French-speakers to be tolerant, indolent, and relatively free-spirited. Respondents from each linguistic group assessed themselves as being "modest," while finding speakers of the other language "arrogant." The polls also indicated that, despite the presence of a separatist strain among some Belgians (particularly in Flanders),almost all Belgians want their country to remain united and believe it will do so in the years and decades to come. End summary -------------- Different priorities, Different Identities: -------------- ¶2. The surveys were conducted and published jointly by "Le Soir," the foremost French-language newspaper in Belgium (about 97,500 readers) and by "De Standaard," one of the major Dutch-language newspapers (about 85,000 readers),as well as a polling company called TNS Media. The survey included the responses of 2002 Belgians of over 15 years of age, of which 1161 were Dutch-speakers and 841 were French-speakers, including 193 Bruxellois. The margin of error was 2.2 percent. ¶3. The surveys found many interesting variations between the perceptions of different Belgians regarding societal problems. Flemish Belgians thought racism was the most pressing issue in their part of the country, whereas francophone Belgians had their mind on one seemingly pressing and one apparently not so vital issue. Not surprisingly for a region where the jobless rate often is over 25 percent, they thought unemployment was the country's top problem. The number two top issue was striking: the carnage on Belgium's excellent road network. Flemings also ranked the loss of traditional values in society as a key issue, particularly as it concerned the decline of the family. Francophones thought this was of little importance. ¶4. In terms of personal identity, Flemings were three times more likely than their Walloon counterparts to identify first with their own region instead of with their country. On the other hand, more francophones described themselves simply as "European." This was especially true for those living in Brussels, the capital of "Europe." -------------- Down with the King, and Up with Federalism: -------------- ¶5. Belgians from different regions disagreed somewhat about the role of the monarchy in Belgium. Flemings were far more likely than their Walloon counterparts to say that the king should be limited to a purely symbolic role and were much less inclined to consider the monarchy as a crucial unifying tradition for Belgium. Flemings also expressed a much stronger desire for increasing regional autonomy than did French-speakers. The regionalist agenda is typically more popular among Flemish politicians, some of whom are currently calling for a regionalization of unemployment services and other matters generally dealt with at the federal level. -------------- Attitudes and Values: -------------- ¶6. In terms of language skills, the Flemings are more confident in their ability to hold their own in a conversation in the other national language than are Walloons by a large margin. While most Belgians on both sides said they think speaking the other language is important, Flemings were more likely to consider traveling to the other side of the linguistic border to further their language skills. A majority of Belgians from all three regions considered English to be "more important" to learn than the other national language. ¶7. In questions of personality, residents of each region tended to view their own as "modest" and residents of other regions as "arrogant." Walloons saw Flemings as relatively racist, reserved, serious, hard-working, and religious. Flemings judged Walloons to be generally lazy, loud, ethnically tolerant, and irreligious. The survey also identified some interesting similarities between the regions' citizens. They all said they valued family most in life, followed by friends, free time for recreation, and then work. They also showed similar, moderate levels of priority given to politics and religion. -------------- Looking Toward the Future: -------------- ¶8. The pollsters discovered that most Belgians had a similar level of confidence in the unity of their country in the years to come. While the vast majority of respondents from the three regions said they wanted Belgium to remain united, just 70 percent thought the country actually would exist as it currently does two decades from now, a testament to the truly split nature of the country and the vague uncertainty it inspires in some of its citizens. That said, the pollsters and most commentators have been putting the best possible face on things. Having more than two thirds of the people say they expected the country to exist, was much better news than they expected. IMBRIE