Journal entries tagged "Politics"
European elections: lack of interest by the media
The European Parliament plays a major role in enacting 70-80% of the legislation of Member States of the European Union, and its role is about to get even bigger when the Lisbon Treaty finally gets adopted.
Between the 4th and 7th of June, European citizens were invited to elect new MEPs (Members of the European Parliament), but indicators show a disappointing turnout: only 43.09% of electors went to the poll stations.
The media have called it a lack of interest of citizens, but aren’t they themselves, along with politicians, at fault?
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Obama, a universal metaphor?
There’s a nice expression in French: “à toutes les sauces”, which means that something has been or can be used for all purposes. Another expression is “à tort et à travers”, similar in its general idea, but with a stronger accent on the inappropriate character of certain uses.
Today, it seems that the example of the new President of the United States is being employed “à toutes les sauces”, sometimes even “à tort et à travers”: I have heard people mention him in religious, political, economic, legal and social contexts. Could it be that his person and message have become a universal metaphor?
On American patriotism
As a good non-American, I watched Obama’s speech today, much like a good portion of the world, no doubt.
While it was by far the best English I’ve heard in politics in a few years (I felt like smiling every time he used “upon/with which” instead of sending the preposition to the end of a sentence as most people do nowadays), I feel sorry that patriotism still has such a massive role to play in American politics.
Belgian politics and the New Year
The New Year has come, and fortunately, a new government for Belgium preceded it slightly. Yes, you heard me. Yet another government. Just when the “Community crisis” seemed to have been forgotten, the economic crisis came along and eventually led to the resignation of our Prime Minister.
It’s probably the last we’ll see for a while of a man who insulted French-speakers but got a record 800.000 votes during the 2007 Federal elections. And this resignation comes just months after he was starting to seem like a capable Prime Minister.
Belgian crisis: when will it be over?
Yet another small political rant about Belgium. I know, I know, but it’s something that I read about every morning in my two newspapers (one Flemish, one French-speaking).
For those not in the know, Belgium (that little country of just 10 million inhabitants, housing most of the EU Institutions and NATO in Brussels) has been undergoing the most “serious” political crisis it has know since its birth in 1830-1831. And as a foreigner, a European, a “Brusseleer”, a silent observer, I’m really annoyed at how things have been going on for the past year.
“No!”: how the Irish proved their ignorance
What makes people vote “no” to a text they have never read?
The Irish “Say No to the Lisbon Treaty” campaign has been the perfect occasion for people to express their dislike of a number of elements: the “Europe of Defence” military idea, increases in taxes, …
Yet who are the Irish to say “no” to a project they do not approve in its entirety? When has a veto on a small part of a project had any positive impact? Especially when the issues at stake had nothing to do with the Lisbon Treaty?
Hello Flanders
Hello Flanders,
How are you? Long time, no see.
You may not remember me, so here’s a little reminder: my name is Peter, I’m twenty-one years old and I’m British. I’ve lived in Belgium, Brussels to be precise, for the past 16 years. I speak English and French, am fluent in Dutch and know basics in German and Japanese.
I read Le Soir and De Standaard every day, and watch only the television channels you have to offer. I’ve had university Law courses at St Louis and the KUB in Brussels, am now at the UCL and am hoping to do a “Master na Master” in Leuven in a year and a half.