Of
Josef Kelnberger, Brussels
Anyone who complains about the patchwork quilt of German federalism does not know Belgium. The centrifugal forces between the regions of Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels are enormous and are reinforced by the differences between the French, Flemish and German language communities. What holds the eleven million people in Belgium together? The royal family and the national football team are often mentioned, but there is also a Belgian specialty that is unspectacular but at least as effective: the automatic adjustment for inflation.