Belgium: drop in support for Flemish reform

Support for the reform of Belgium's Flemish region has fallen, according to a new study.

Compiled by the Institute for Social and Political Opinion at the University of Leuven, the study said an increasing number of Flemish people now identify more with the Belgian state than with Flanders, Flemish newspaper De Standaard reported on Tuesday.

In recent years, the country's northern Dutch-speaking region of Flanders has often been characterised by a reform movement that favors an independent Flemish state.

In the elections on May 2014, the secessionist New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) party became the largest political party in the region.

However, according to the study, support for an increase in powers for Flanders has now dropped to its lowest point since the 1990s.

The study canvassed 1,183 voters. According to its findings, the number of separatist voters has dropped by a half. Support for total Flemish independence has also dropped, while more people now identify with the Belgian state.

According to the study, less than six percent of voters said that state reform played a role in their voting decision in the May 2014 elections. This contrasts sharply with the two previous elections. In 2007, the figure was around 13 percent, while in 2010 this had risen to 19.7 percent. Enditem