Swiss Identity and Political Division: ESA Referendum
The Narrow Margin of the ESA Vote and Swiss Identity
The narrow margin of profit for proponents of ESA membership showed that the traditional foundations of Swiss identity were no longer so stable. The outcome of the referendum on the ESA revealed the extent to which society was divided between supporters and opponents of modernization and between linguistic communities (German-speaking Swiss were against, while French-speaking Swiss were in favor). This reopened the historic divide between French-speaking Switzerland and German-speaking Switzerland.
In 1994, those who supported EU membership clearly represented a majority over the opponents. Among the first, highlighted were the Swiss-French, young people at the university level, the self-employed, and the Socialist Party.
But modernization processes have exacerbated the fragmentation of traditional society, with a hypothetical disintegration of it. In this regard, another important aspect of national identity was noted: its economic successes and material wealth. On the other hand, in a case of disintegration of the country, linguistic communities might prove to become peripheral and marginal in comparison with neighboring countries. This argument alone is able to counteract the possible impact of the individualization and fragmentation of society.
The Political System of Belgium
Historical-Political Analysis of Belgium
Belgium was constituted as an independent state in 1830 following the uprising against Holland, which had subjected it to domination since the Congress of Vienna, held in 1814 after the defeat of Napoleon. After the triumph of the revolutionary uprising, supported by a coalition of liberals and Catholics, the National Congress was elected by census suffrage. In 1831, it adopted the Constitution, still in force, and adopted the constitutional monarchy as a form of government.
The maintenance of Unionism (collaboration between Catholics and liberals) after independence was becoming increasingly difficult as there were fewer common goals. The Liberals were the first to start the Liberal Party, founded in 1846. Catholics did not form a political party until 1884.
In the second half of the nineteenth century, the process of industrialization began, based on the production of coal and the metallurgical industry in Wallonia, driven by the construction of the railway network. Despite being heavily industrialized, the labor movement developed slowly. Economic development, moreover, is also related to colonial expansion.
Belgium’s neutrality in World War II was not respected, as it was invaded by the Germans in 1940. King Leopold III decided to capitulate, which marked his break with the government and led to what would later be called the “royal issue.” This resulted, after the war, in the king’s abdication in favor of his son Baudouin I.
During the nineteenth and part of the twentieth century, Wallonia was the dominant region. French supremacy was maintained until the end of the 1950s, when its decline began. This is because: first, the Flemish population outnumbered the Walloon; and second, the Walloon economy, focusing on heavy industry, went into decline while the Flemish began its boom, turning into the most dynamic part of the country.
Since the Second World War, Flemish nationalist sentiment grew, but the territorial-linguistic fracture did not occur until 1960, with the emergence of political movements in Flanders demanding greater autonomy. These movements were given assistance in the electoral system, putting the political system under pressure so that the unitary State structure was no longer viable. The reaction came in the 1970s with the institutional reforms that have turned Belgium into a federal state since the early nineties (1993).
The Main Political Institutions of Belgium
Head of State
The 1831 Constitution grants the Chief of State powers of great importance. However, the monarch needs to have ministers who have to endorse each of his actions and answer for them before Parliament. Today, the King has the typical functions of heads of state in parliamentary monarchies and lacks political accountability.