Palace of Laeken - November 15th, 1949

In response to the violence and nationwide turbulence following the return of King Leopold from exile, the government today finally announced a national referendum to take place on February 25th of 1950. "The form of the referendum will be a simple Yes/No response to allowing King Leopold to resume his place as our monarch, following the untimely death of his brother, Prince Charles, whom we all mourn," said Prime Minister Eyskens.

Prince Charles was killed in a horrific automobile accident at the Belgian Grand Prix this June. King Leopold, exiled from the country since the end of the war, managed to slip into the country illegally in an attempt to visit his brother in Liege, not knowing that he had already died. The King had then been trapped in a Monastery by an angry crowd, only being rescued by helicopter after a tense two-day-long standoff. In the clumsily handled army response, 101 people were killed, mostly by trampling as the army herded the crowd away from the monastery. Nationwide protests and strikes followed this event. Though calmed by a lull in activity during late August, a machine-gun attack against the Palace of Laeken in mid-September caused tensions to explode again. All throughout October, clashes between pro-Leopoldist Nationalists and anti-Leopoldist, pro-Wallonian factions have consumed the streets of Brussels, taking many lives.

The government response to the crisis has been widely seen as botched. While the military has done a reasonable job of protecting most factories and government buildings from damage, their presence at large street protests has been conspicuously absent. Rumours have even spread that the army and gendarmerie are supplying both sides with weapons, ammunition, explosives and protection. So, too, have rumours of French involvement in the Wallonian camp, with many Nationalists alleging that weapons and explosives are flowing across the southern Belgian border.

Whether the referendum will quell this crisis remains to be seen. Poor turnout in the general elections in August, with many being scared away from the polls by the street violence, allowed an unexpectedly strong showing from the new Walloon Unity party, representing Wallonian interests and the anti-Leopoldist camp generally. If turnout is poor again at the referendum, it may be seen as illegitimate by those in the Wallonian camp. Many in the anti-Leopold camp have already raised concerns of vote rigging and of the pro-Leopoldists paramilitaries preventing their votes from being cast. It almost seems that, regardless of the outcome of the referendum, the crisis in Belgium will not end anytime soon.