A few years ago Ross Dawson and I created an “extinction timeline” showing when a few familiar things might die out. For a bit of fun I put Belgium on it. There were two serious reasons for doing this. First, if there was one country that might not survive the 21st Century it was surely Belgium. Just look at it’s history.

Secondly, we assume that things like maps are fixed, but historically speaking they are fluid. We should not assume that where the lines are drawn today is where the lines will be drawn in the future.

Why am I telling you this now? Because Laurette Onkelinx, the woman tipped as the future Belgium premier, is openly talking about the need to “Get ready for the break up of Belgium.”