What status should Brussels have?

Karl van den Broeck, the weekly's editor, reacts to the controversy sparked by a remark by Yves Leterme, the president-minister of the Flanders region, that certain francophones "are not intellectually equipped to learn Flemish". "The subsequent storm of words that erupted brought us back to a pre-revolutionary state of affairs. ... Leterme is now being depicted as a Flemish extremist. ... But in the context of the interview, the minister-president's 'racist' jibe was clearly ironic, or sarcastic. ... In fact, what was truly novel in Leterme's interview was his appeal for Brussels to be given a European status - something that does not correspond either to the government's position, nor to his own party's official line. It seems that Brussels' status is becoming a key theme in the discussions over Belgium's future."

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