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11/24/2007: "Belgium mulls dissolving nation-state"

Talks on forming a coalition after elections in June are dragging on acrimoniously and there is no sign of an end to the impasse. Christian Democrats in the Flemish north are seeking greater independence, but Liberals in the French-speaking south fear that this will cause the country to divide.

Newspapers have debated the "Czechoslovakia option" and analysed the amounts of tax that wealthy Flemings would save if they did not have to contribute to welfare payments in the south, where unemployment is three times higher.

[ Nation-states replace ethnic nations. Belgium is the first to reverse this trend. It's not a country unless it's an extended family. ]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article2896321.ece