The Flemish Movement is a popular term used to describe the political movement for greater autonomy of the region of Flanders and for protection of the Dutch language and the Flemish culture. The movement is unique in that unlike most separatist movements, the Flemish movement is very much dominated by the right-wing as opposed to the usually left leaning movements in Ireland, Basque and Quebec for example. The movement today is composed of a militant wing which is most often in opposition, and a moderate wing which is more participative in local, Flemish and Belgian institutions.
The militant wing is dominated by the right-wing organizations such as the Vlaams Blok (Flemish bloc, 2nd party in the Belgian party since 2003), Voorpost, NSV (Nationalist Students Organization) and countless other groups. There are however more moderate groups such as the N-VA (New Flemish Alliance, also with memebers of parlaiment in all assemblies), as well as tens of extra-perlaimentary organisations; many of these are represented in the 'Overlegcentrum van Vlaamse verenigingen' (OVV). The most important of these is the Vlaamse volksbeweging (VVB).
Independentists
The militant wing of the Flemish movement today generally seeks an independent Flemish republic with Brussels as its capital. A small group of the Flemish movement however also advocates reunion with the Netherlands to form a greater Netherlands sometimes called Dietsland. This view is also shared with many Dutch right-wingers and nationalists who are very supportive of the Flemish movement. Nowadays, many moderate politicians in the netherlands also adopted this idea, including even many left-wing politicians like Jan Terlouw. The N-VA, New Flemish Alliance, officially follows this line too, altough many of its members have a clear preference for a confederal organisation of the Nelgian state.
confederalists
The moderate wing is particularly represented in the christian-democratic CD&V, and also in the liberal VLD and even in the socialist SP.A. Between 1990 and 2003, the VLD attracted many former Volksunie-militants and officials, while most others continued their activities in the N-VA, and a minority in Spirit. This moderate wing has many ties with social and employers organisations, especially the Vlaams Economisch verbond (VEV). Most people in this moderate wing prefer either a confederation or improved federal institutions. As a consequence, Brussels remains for both these tendency a city where both Flemings and French-speakers share equal rights and where both can feel at home, as opposed to the militant wing's plans that would render the French-speakers to a certain degree foreigners in a essentially Flemish and Ducth-speaking state.
federalists
This tendency dominates in tiny Spirit, and among the more Flemish-inclined politicians in the SP.A, and in several social and cultural organisations as the 'Vermeylenfonds', in trade unions and in mutual health insurance organisations. These people hope to be able to make the current institutions working and non-discriminating. They prefer to leave the total financial dominance of belgian institutions intact. However, the recent findings on the stubdorn discriminations of Flemings in hospitals and medical urgency services in Brussels, the extremely painfull modernisation of belgian administration, and the near-impossibility to alleviates labour charges because of conservative resistance from the French-speakers (both left, PS, and right, MR) is not strengtehning the case for the federalist line.
Tellingly, within the Flemish socialist mouvement, there have been three key players whom, during the last 5 years, attempted to modernise Belgian institutions and who failed for the same reason; in public services (Luc Vanden Bossche), the socialist trade unions (Mia De Vits, former number one), and social services and health care (Frank vanden Broucke). All three were more or less defeated, and to a certain extent publicly humiliated, by fierce resistance from the French-speakers. As a result, Luc Vanden Bossche left politics, Mia De Vits left trade unions and went into Flemish politics, and Frank vanden Broucke left belgian politics for the Flemish government.
With the defeat of Napoleon in 1815 the 'southern Netherlands' was reunited with its northern half under the Kingdom of the Netherlands. This also included Luxemburg. In the next 15 years many in the southern Netherlands, the exclusively francophile middle and upper classes, began to resent being dominated by the Dutch language and Protestantism. They joined forces with the Catholics who resented the protestant Dutch king, and with liberals who opposed his authoritarian style.
This lead to the Belgian revolution in 1830. The French government heavily supported this revolution and it is therefore no surprise that the first head of government was a Frenchman and that the new King was married to the daughter of the king of France. This resulted in a new very much francophone state in which French was the only recognized language. This despite the fact that the majority of people in the newly created Belgian state spoke Dutch. The francophile 'haute bourgeoisie' and the nobility managed to 'hijack' power in the new state. It had a very liberal constitution, but voting rights existed for less then 1% of the adult population.
Half a century after the Belgian revolution, Flemish intellectuals such as WF Willems and Hendrik Consience began to call for recognition of the Dutch language and culture of Belgium. This movement became known as the Flemish movement. Its first success was the passing of a law in 1898 that for the first time recognized Dutch as a language in Belgium. With the coming of the 20th century the Flemish movement became more radical and in the first world war many 'activists' welcomed the occupiers as 'liberating Germanic brothers'. The Germans did indeed help out their 'germanic brothers' by setting Dutch as the sole administrative language and by converting the University of Ghent to the Dutch language. With the German defeat so went many of the language reforms and alleged collaboration was used as a pretext to arrest, harass, and execute Flemish movement leaders. In the 1920s the first Flemish nationalist party was elected and in 1928; a prominent Flemish leader on death row for working in the German flemish government was elected. In the 30s the flemish movement grew ever larger and larger and Dutch was recognized for the first time as the sole language of Flanders. During World War II Belgium was once again occupied and once again many of the Flemish movement looked at is as a liberation from French domination. The Germans once again enacted further laws to protect and encourage the Dutch language in Flanders. After Germany's second defeat the Belgian government once again used collaboration as a pretext to repress the Flemish movement. Many leaders were imprisioned and executed. After this the Flemish movement lay dormant for nearly 20 years. Then in the 1960s the movement once again picked up steam and in 1962 the language borders were finally set up with Brussels being designated as a bilingual city. The late 60s saw all major Belgian political parties splitting up into Flemish and Walloonian parts. It also saw the emergence of the first major nationalist Flemish party, the Volksunie (Folks Union). In 1977 more radical right-wing splinters of the Volksunie came together to form the Vlaams Blok (Flemish Bloc). This party would overtake the Volksunie and today is the main party of the Flemish movement.
In 2000 the Volksunie (Folks Union) exploded into Spirit and NVA. Both parties now have coallitions with other partys. In the 2004 elections both Spirit and NVA won and take part of the newly formed government.