Miss Belgium is not as bilingual as she could be

Alizée Poulicek, the new Miss Belgium, was elected on Saturday, December 15th, with more than a spot of bother, explains Myriam Leroy. The candidate was booed in public for failing to understand a question that she was asked in Dutch. "And now Miss Belgium, the latest ambitious televised event to be made by members of both the French-speaking and Flemish communities, is wallowing in intolerance. A word of advice to future candidates for Peugeot convertibles and a matching crown: be 'tweetalig' [bilingual] otherwise, you will poop the party. We are her to elect bottoms, boobs, eyes, a smile and a posture, but also, in Belgium, keen attentiveness in language lessons. ... Little matter Alizée's spontaneity, little matter her enthralling life story and the fact that she masters English and Czech. 'Helaas spreekt Alizée nauwelijks Nederlands' [Alas Alizée hardly speaks Dutch], regrets the Flemish papers [The day after the nomination]."

» full article (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Public Culture, » Belgium
All available articles from » Myriam Leroy

» To the complete press review of Monday, December 17, 2007