Belgium’s failed coronavirus response is the final straw

To be frank, the Belgian response to the pandemic has been an insult.

From curfews imposed without evidence that it would halt the virus, to the kafkaesque restrictions on which house guests can use the toilet, to the decision to strip us of our freedom of movement without consultation, the big-government approach of the Belgian government has resulted in naught but disaster.

The coronavirus has flourished. The economy is gone. Mental health has collapsed and jobs have disappeared. No one can call this a success on any level.

The idea of big government; that a bureaucrat knows better than you what is good for your life, that a minister can effectively balance your security needs and your mental health needs, that the state is better placed to fight this pandemic than the individual, has failed at every single turn.

And let’s be honest, no one with any experience of the Belgian state is surprised by this. Government excess and overreach, bureaucratic inefficiency, poor decision making and slow and sluggish service are not seen as problems to be fought and wrestled with, but inherent characteristics of the Belgian state.

Take as an example the legendary, never-ending, public works. Take the collapsing, slow and kafkaesque bureaucracy. Take the unresponsive and out of touch government – in the relatively small amount of time that one exists. The Belgian state fails at every task it puts its mind to. Go ahead, try to think of something that it excels at, I’ll wait.

And now, rather than simply being an eye-rolling quirk of Belgium, the longest-running, unfunniest joke in European history, the big government is literally killing us. Daily reports of vaccines, obtained excruciatingly slowly, thrown in the bin and wasted. Suicides skyrocketing after a year of being imprisoned in our homes and now within our country – devoid of social contact, joy and happiness. Coronavirus spreading like wildfire anyway, at a rate only matched by the epidemic of depression that accompanies it.

Add this to the people impoverished and rendered unable to pay bills by a tax system that takes half the earnings of a McDonald’s worker, whilst allowing European Commission officials to pay nothing. Businesses bankrupted by forced closures and enormous tax burdens, their owners destitute and their workers jobless.

It’s all too much. Enough is enough. Who in their right mind wants to fund this state?

Tinkering with Belgian policies and the Belgian state is akin to putting a plaster on a gunshot wound. Nothing has improved Belgian government over the years, and nothing will. The fact is that there is but one remedy to the headache-inducing problems of Belgium’s centralised and cumbersome state – cut, cut, cut.


The author: Clémentine FORISSIER

Clémentine Forissier, a youthful journalist hailing from Brussels, has been making waves in the field of media. Despite her relatively young age, she has quickly risen to prominence as a prominent voice in Belgian journalism. Known for her fresh perspective and dynamic reporting, Clémentine has become a recognized figure in the Brussels media scene, offering insightful coverage of various topics.

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