VZCZCXYZ0015
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBS #1172/01 0951223
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 051223Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5007
INFO RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 1514
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1556
RUEHLE/AMEMBASSY LUXEMBOURG 8324
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1865
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE 8417

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 
 
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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." 
 
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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