One of the things that I hate most in this country is the fact that when a Flemish person opens his mouth to defend the Flemish point of view, the francophones immediately accuse him of being a member of the fascist organisation called Vlaams Belang. Sometimes this argument is used as a malign strategy: demonise your opponent as a fascist so you don't have to listen to what he says. But most of the time the francophones who use this argument, genuinely believe it. This is quite ironic, given the fact that the rise of Vlaams Belang is largely due to the francophones and that Vlaams Belang would immediately implode if Flanders would decide to secede. Allow me to explain.
Although the underlying motivation differs, the Flemish are in a certain sense very comparable to the citizens of the United States, in so far as they both deeply distrust their federal government. The Flemish motivation for this almost genetic aversion for all central authority lies in the fact that the Flemish have always been ruled by foreign nations, making each central government looked at as a strange, annoying and interfering thing that has absolutely nothing to do with looking after the welfare of the people. This is the source for the Flemish proverb "Wat we zelf doen, doen we beter" (we do better what we do ourselves) and to the Flemish habit of mainly identifying yourself with the city you're from.
This Flemish sentiment did not change after the start of Belgium. On the contrary, the Flemish were now a second class people in a French dominated state, in which all important private and government positions where kept out of Flemish hands. The Flemish have always regarded Belgium as a French State, in which they were barely allowed to participate. "La Belgique" existed, "België" never did. The last few decades, the Flemish have made a surge, both economically, politically and culturally. Nevertheless, certain public sectors (like justice and foreign affairs) still remain firmly in French hands. Needless to say that the Flemish grudge against the French establishment was and is very strong.
In light of the above, it is only natural to assume that after the decline of the classical pillar like structure of Belgian society (with a socialist, a liberal and a catholic pillar) an anti-establishment party would score quite well with the Flemish. Problem was that the anti-establishment vote was tapped by Vlaams Belang, one of the most destructive parties ever to exist in Flanders, whose main strategy consist of looking for pain points in society and then squeezing them. This squeezing provokes a scream of agony in the patient that translates itself in votes for a party that never managed to come up with any solution for the problems it so eagerly lays bare. Is this a racist vote, as the francophones as all too eagerly willing to believe and say? Nah, the Flemish aren't racist, they're one of the most tolerant people in the world, just look at their very liberal viewpoints on a matter like homosexuality. The Flemish are just anti-establishment and Vlaams Belang gives 'em what they need to kick some establishment ass.
Why can't Vlaams Belang come up with any decent solutions? Because there is no one Vlaams Belang. The political personnel of Vlaams Belang consist of a large base of what we'll call "filler". They are basically voting machines that do as the party big shots decide. The big shots of the party do not all share the same political philosophy, they are an amalgam of three very different groups with one common objective: the immediate separation of Flanders.
The first group consists of ultra liberals (in the European sense of the word), genre Hugo Coveliers, dark blue conservatives who want to get rid of Wallonia because it is a socialist shithole. Then we have the ultra Flemish nationalist group, who want the immediate and unilateral separation of Flanders (contrary to the nationalists in NVA, who want a soft divorce). Last but not least there are the neo-fascists, who want to separate from Wallonia because of some bullshit Blood and Soil nazi belief.
Anyway, even though Vlaams Belang more or less succeeded in keeping a unified front, you can imagine it to be kind of hard to formulate decent and coherent solutions to the nations problems with a motley crew like that.
If Flanders would ever secede, the main force that binds the different factions within the party HQ would be gone, making the party instantly fragment into different niche parties that not a Fleming would give a shit about. Vlaams Belang would be dead in a minute and the Flemish would finally be governed by those who have the most interest in their welfare, the Flemish themselves, taking away the very manure that made the Vlaams Belang parasitic flower blossom so abundantly.
With Vlaams Belang out of the way, the socialists could once again pick up their classic role of the democratic anti-establishment party in a mainly conservative country, in so far as there will be an anti-establishment vote left in an independent Flanders.
