Vlaams Belang powers ahead

One must admit to a certain difficulty in understanding how the Belgian election system works, especially when it comes to local elections. As I understand it, Vlaams Belang, the Flemish nationalist and anti-immigration party has done well in Flanders, though there was an upset in certain parts of Antwerp, where there is a large immigrant population.

The Christian-Democrat/New Flemish Alliance has also done well, coming second to VB. In the Walloon part the Socialists have retained power despite (or, perhaps, because) of numerous recent corruption scandals.

For the moment the most detailed analysis I could find is on A Fistful of Euros. Presumably, there will be others. A slightly different emphasis is seen in this piece on Brussels Journal.

However, one cannot help wondering how long Belgium will remain a single country or, even, member state of the European Union. Nor will a potential splintering help the EU as the constitutent parts are unlikely to call themselves regions. Flanders will most certainly want to be a country.