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This article details metaphor styles in Belgian-Flemish political discourse. Some scholars complain about uniformity & colorlessness of the modern political discourse. In this 'sound bite culture,' metaphor plays, nevertheless, a major role. Sound bites were, in fact, found to rely upon these traditional elements of style. The present, empirical, article examines variety in metaphor used by Flemish politicians. The first part consists of a quantitative metaphor analysis of written press interviews with male & female politicians. The second part presents the results of in-depth interviews with politicians on the subject of their own & colleagues' political (metaphor) style strategies. The conclusion confronts politicians' impressions with our findings on political (metaphor) style in Flanders. Adapted from the source document.

'It is undeniable that people in our current network and information society empowered and more independent than before. Are combined with the need to reduce the government deficit back, this leads to the classic welfare state slowly but surely turning into a participatory society. From anyone who may be asked to take responsibility for his or her own life and environment. 'Thus King Willem-Alexander in the most discussed part of his first speech from the throne. Prime Minister Rutte characterized the transition from welfare to society participation as a movement from the bottom up by citizens wanted and facilitated by the government. For this installment of the Symposium, we asked experts on the welfare state to reflect the transition indicated by the king. Romke van der Veen puts the development in the Netherlands in a number of major trends and then shows that we are at a crossroads where we can from different sides. Judith van der Veer discusses one of those sides: the transition from welfare to activation city. In the third contribution Flemish politician Mieke Vogels describes (Green, the Flemish green party) how they all late 90s tried to enter the participative society in Belgium and how the movement initiated by her reversed by subsequent ministers. Adapted from the source document.

In 2008, the Dutch politician Geert Wilders (Partij voor de Vrijheid PVV, Party For Freedom) published on the Internet his film Fitna, discussing the Islam in what the author of the present article calls an amateurish series of stereotypes, prejudices, decontextualized images and (purposeful) mistranslations. The Dutch debate surrounding the movies was almost exclusively directed in terms of freedom of opinion and expression, and their alleged threat. An upheaval amongst the Dutch political elite and within media circles that was, however, disappointingly short. In the present article, the author discusses the obsession for Islam as a symptom of growing political incapacity to make a rational and nuanced analysis of the diversity and complexity of the Islam on the one hand, and the role and place of religion in the 21st century in general. The first part is a criticism of the conducted debate, the second part an effort to formulate the right questions that can lead to some realistic answers. References. O. van Zijl

In his speech at the conference "Buitenlandse politiek in Belgie" (The Foreign Policy in Belgium), organized by the U of Ghent & the Catholic U of Louvain & held in Ghent, 27 March 2002, the country's foreign minister outlines the principles governing the foreign policies of the current government led by prime minister Guy Verhofstadt since the summer of 1999. He stresses the importance of vision, trust, & morality in Belgian foreign policy & mentions his country's unblemished stand on human rights, unwavering championship of the European Union (EU), & efforts to construct durable peace in Central Africa. The effectiveness of multilateral & bilateral approaches is pointed out. The active position of the EU, under its Belgian chairmanship, in addressing issues pertaining to the Balkan & Middle East conflicts is noted. The new challenges posed by the events of September 11 & the future enlargement of the EU with states from Central & Southern Europe are recognized. Z. Dubiel

The Belgian foreign policy carried out by the prime minister Guy Verhofstadt & foreign minister Louis Michel is described as voluntaristic with ethical overtones & contrasted with the US policy of unilateralism. The state of the two countries' mutual relations before & after September 11 is outlined, & the growing division over the war in Irak is investigated. Excerpts from Michel's speeches are quoted to demonstrate the voluntaristic content & form of Belgian foreign policy within the EU & in Central Africa. The split within the EU on supporting the US intervention in Irak, with Belgium joining France & Germany in opposing George W. Bush's decision to invade this country, is described. It is pointed out that Belgium disagrees with the unilateral approach to foreign affairs adopted by the Bush government, as it: (1) replaces the principle of fellowship with followship, (2) dismisses the principle of multilateral consultation propagating its slogan of the "coalition of the willing," & (3) does not respect the "rules-based system" of international conduct. The prospects of Belgium's place in a future configuration of transatlantic relations are assessed, concluding that this country's voluntarism is less damaging to fellowship than American unilateralism. Z. Dubiel