Belgium (Mere Men)

This Mere Men article has not been expanded past 1951 yet.

Kingdom of Belgium Koninkrijk België (Dutch) Royaume de Belgique (French) Königreich Belgien (German) Timeline: Mere Men OTL equivalent: Belgium
Flag Coat of arms
Motto:  Unity makes strength
Anthem:  La Brabançonne
Map of Belgium, other states of Benelux in light green
Capital (and largest city)		Brussels
Official languages		Dutch • French • German
Religion		Catholic, irreligious, other
Demonym		Belgian
Government		Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy
-	King	Leopold IV
-	Prime Minister
Legislature		Parliament
Independence from the Netherlands
-	United Belgian States	11 January 1790
-	Belgian Revolution	25 August 1830
Area
-	Total	30,689 km2  11,849 sq mi
Currency		Belgian franc
Time zone		CET

Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium (Dutch: Koninkrijk België, French: Royaume de Belgique, German: Königreich Belgien) is country in the Low Countries area of Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the south, and the North Sea to the west. Belgium is a federal constitutional monarchy under King Leopold IV, with Brussels as its capital city. Belgium is a member of the Benelux Union.

In the Middle Ages, the territory of what is now Belgium was a part of the Holy Roman Empire. At the Congress of Vienna the territory was given to the Netherlands, from which the country then achieved independence in the 1830 Belgian Revolution. During both of the world wars, Belgium was invaded and occupied by Germany. In the second half of the 20th century, Belgium dealt with increasing tensions between its two main language groups.

History

Second World War and its aftermath

Belgium declared itself neutral after the outbreak of the Second World War, but was nonetheless invaded by Germany during their invasion of France. King Leopold III personally assumed control over the Armed Forces and later decided to surrender to Germany, both without consulting the constitutional government led by Prime Minister Hubert Pierlot. Furthermore, Leopold refused the government's call to flee to France and continue to lead the war effort. In the end, Leopold remained as a prisoner of war in Belgium, which came under German military and civilian administration, while Pierlot and other ministers left for France and later the United Kingdom, joining the Allies.

In 1945, it was clear that the German defeat was inevitable and Pierlot's government in exile sent an offer of reconciliation to the King. His demands, which included the exclusion of pre-war ministers from the cabinet and annulment of all international treaties signed by the government in exile, which was unacceptable to Pierlot or any other exiled politicians. Leopold was meanwhile transported by the German forces to Austria as the French army advanced on Brussels. After the country was liberated in 1946, Pierlot and his cabinet returned to Brussels, temporarily installing a regency under King's brother Charles of Flanders. Problems with food supply and general unpopularity however forced Pierlot to resign and August De Schryver was appointed in his place.

Belgium was faced with many issues in the immediate post-war period. Communist resistance cells threatened to overthrow the government as the Soviet Union advanced into Germany, while the French presence, after the French Army had liberated most of the country, contributed to the division of Belgium along its language groups – while on the one hand Dutch-speaking Flemish people, fearing a return of the French domination over Flanders, became increasingly supportive of Leopold III's return from exile, rattachist propaganda was being spread among the French-speaking Walloons. French effort to annex Wallonia only intensified after the country was not invited to the Havana Conference, but by 1947 Allied pressure forced the French forces to withdraw from the Low Countries entirely. However, the division of the country persisted and only intensified with the emergence of the Royal Question and the 1947 parliamentary election.

Flag of the Benelux Union

In the 1947 election, the openly Leopoldist Christian Social Party (Parti Social Chrétien-Christelijke Volkspartij) carried Flanders, while the Belgian Socialist Party (Parti Socialiste belge-Belgische Socialistische Partij), which demanded the King's immediate abdication, dominated Wallonia. Overall, the PSC-CVP came first, but the election resulted in a hung parliament with both major parties being only a few seats short of majority. Despite the Catholic victory, however, the party was unable to form a coalition and the Socialist and Liberal parties formed a government under Achille Delattre instead. The Delattre government ignored the Royal Question and instead focused on the reconstruction of the country through numerous economic and social reforms, as did the government of Paul-Henri Spaak, which succeeded it after a cabinet crisis in 1948. With the financial support from the United States, the government also began to industrialise Flanders, which have been a mostly agricultural region up to the war. Under Spaak's guidance, the Benelux Customs Union was implemented with neighbouring Netherlands and Luxembourg, strengthening the relations between the three countries.

Road to federalism

In the 1950 election, PSC-CVP won with a narrow absolute majority in the Parliament while openly advocating for the restoration of King Leopold III. Although the party made an offer to the PSB-BSP of a coalition government, disagreement regarding the exiled king resulted in a one-party government led by the pre-war Prime Minister Paul van Zeeland. The parliament ended Prince Charles' regency in 1951 and Leopold was invited to return from his Austrian exile. Immediately, however, riots broke out in several Walloon cities. Trade unions and the Communist Party of Belgium (Kommunistische Partij van België-Parti Communiste de Belgique) organised mass strikes while many Walloon separatists began calling for an independent Walloon Republic or outright French annexation of the region. With the threat of a civil war erupting in Belgium, the government rushed to persuade King Leopold to abdicate, which he did on 7 September 1951, leaving the throne to his young son Baudouin. Remaining unrest was quickly suppressed by the Belgian authorities.