MEANWHILE...:

Belgium, like the EU, is a Frankenstein creation (Bruno Waterfield, 03/10/2007, Daily Telegraph)

To understand Belgium, imagine that the Union flag no longer flies over Britain or the Cross of St George over England. Imagine an alien flag fluttering from the spires and flying above official buildings across the land. The flag is not the red, white and blue of British Union, symbolising a shared national history stretching back centuries, but the azure field and 12 gold stars of the European Union.

Then imagine that your rulers tell you that you are not, in fact, British but that you are a European, a stranger in your own land.

For many Belgians, this experience is the reality of everyday life. It lies at the heart of an identity crisis that has robbed Belgium of a government for the past 115 days and threatens the country's very existence.

No one even wants the Union Jack.

Posted by Orrin Judd at October 3, 2007 7:39 AM