Sir, – Michael Finlan (November 20th), has it completely wrong about Belgian politics in general, and my party, the N-VA, in particular.
The N-VA, by far the largest party in Flanders, is a normal centre-right party and can certainly not be described as belonging to the far right. Your Editorial (November 18th) quite correctly did not do so.
The fact that the less than 50 per cent “rest of Belgium”, to which Mr Finlan refers, essentially Wallonia, tends to centre-left rather than to centre-right is mainly due to the considerable socio-economic differences between the two main regions in Belgium, not to any extremist tendencies on either side.
As far as the official use of language is concerned, Mr Finlan must surely be aware that this, a very sensitive issue in Belgium, is regulated by the constitution. He should be advised that the Flemish region is fully and at all times in conformity with the latter’s provisions. – Yours, etc,
HANS De BELDER,
Former Belgian Senator,
Nutley Park,
Donnybrook,
Dublin 4.