Belgian politician sings wrong anthem

Posted By P.J. Aroon Tuesday, July 24, 2007 - 1:18 PM Share

Belgian National Anthem The man who is supposed to become Belgium's next prime minister apparently doesn't know his own country's national anthem. Yves Leterme, head of the Flemish Christian Democrats, said last year that French-speaking Belgians are either too stupid or too unwilling to learn the country's other main language, Flemish. Last Saturday, a TV reporter asked Leterme to sing Belgium's national anthem.

Leterme promptly began singing France's national anthem, "La Marseillaise."

The whole incident was caught on camera as Leterme was entering a church, and regardless of whether or not Leterme was joking, the gaffe isn't going to help him in being a unifying force to form a new government.

Leterme's blundering continued over the weekend when he said that Belgium's National Day—July 21, 1831—commemorates the "proclamation of the constitution." Actually, it marks the day when Leopold I became the country's first king. That gaffe may not have been as bad, though, since only one in five Belgians happens to know what the day commemorates.

If Leterme truly wants to be a uniter and not a divider, then he had better learn "La Brabançonne" fast.

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