How Belgium’s political elite clings to 19th-century governance while its people and companies pay the price.
Belgium — a tiny gem in the heart of Europe, surrounded by economic powerhouses. And yet, while its neighbours have been sprinting into the 21st century, Belgium seems determined to stay stuck in the 19th, clinging to an archaic, overcomplicated political machine that creaks and groans under its own weight.
It’s a nation built on a noble dream: a socialist paradise where wealth is shared, everyone is protected, and no one is left behind. Lovely on paper. The only problem? The politicians forgot the basic rule of socialism: before you share wealth, you actually have to create it.
Fast-forward to today, and the dream looks more like a slow-motion train wreck. The country is heading for bankruptcy. Citizens pay staggering taxes their whole working lives without knowing if they’ll see a single euro of the pensions they’ve been promised — because the retirement age keeps being nudged upwards like some cruel moving target.
Street crime is at record highs, but instead of fixing the causes, politicians are busy squeezing every possible drop out of the people who are still keeping the economy afloat.
Businesses? They’re being treated like lemons — squeezed dry until they shrivel and die.
Local companies are closing their doors. Foreign companies are packing up. Inflation is eating savings alive. The cost of living? Skyrocketing. And what’s the government’s plan?
New taxes, more fines, and a steady stream of creative ways to make citizens pay for decades of political blunders.
Take property, for example. Capital gains on rent? Sure, but also a massive registration fee so they can pretend there’s no capital gains tax. Confused? You’re supposed to be.
The result: fewer people buying, fewer properties being maintained, and “primes” and incentives disappearing faster than summer sunshine in Brussels.
Airbnb owners face fines for operating without permits — permits the government refuses to issue in the first place.
Small consultancy firms are collapsing under fines for violating the 24 July 1987 Act, often without even knowing what they did wrong. But hey, the fines make for a nice quick cash injection to cover budget holes. And let’s not forget traffic fines — now higher, more frequent, and suspiciously well-timed to fill government coffers.
Remember Brexit? When companies were fleeing the UK and looking for a base in mainland Europe? Germany, France, and the Netherlands rolled out the red carpet.
Belgium rolled over and went back to sleep. The opportunity of a generation passed by — and the politicians still haven’t noticed, busy as they are in their comfort zones, safely insulated from the mess they’ve made.
And the Belgian people? The quietest in Western Europe. In France, Germany, or the UK, this kind of political incompetence might spark protests, strikes, even riots. In Belgium, people shrug, order another beer, and enjoy the sunshine while it lasts.
It’s almost admirable, the way Belgians can adapt to almost anything — even being fleeced.
Belgium could be a leader in Europe. It has talent, infrastructure, culture, and location on its side. But unless it wakes up and starts creating wealth instead of taxing it to death, it risks becoming the sad punchline in the European Union’s history book — a nation that had everything, and still managed to blow it.
The Kingdom of Missed Opportunities a, country rich in taxes and poor in vision. Are we witnessing a collapse of a country in slow motion? From Brexit’s fallout to homegrown innovation, Will Belgium’s leaders let prosperity slip through their fingers? Lets wait and see… Santé.
