Well, he should know, because he was one of the people who decided that this should be so. Eight years ago, the so called "fixed representation" of Dutch speakers in the Brussels Parliament was agreed on by both Flemish and francophone liberals (as well as socialists and greens) as part of the Lombard agreement, named after... the seat of the Brussels Parliament. This was part of a larger package on state reform, the so called Lambermont agreement, negotiated by, amongst others, Didier Reynders.

Reynders' remarks were obviously no more than a last-minute effort to gain some extra votes in Brussels, using an old recipe: demonising the Flemish. Still, it raises an interesting question: why are Dutch speakers over-represented in the Brussels Parliament?

First of all, because they are a protected minority. In the same way, French-speakers are a protected minority in the whole of Belgium. Because of this, half of the federal government consists of French-speaking ministers, although the francophones definitely make up less than half of the population. Another clear case of over-representation, then. When you question one of these, you question the other too, which might ultimately bring down the whole of the federal state that took us so many years to construct. Do not go there, Reynders' Flemish friends warned him.

So how many Dutch speakers are there in Brussels? This is impossible to tell, as official counts based on language are outlawed. The number of Brussels votes received by Flemish parties has been going down steadily (which is, in fact, one of the reasons the fixed representation system was installed). Still, the influence of Dutch is on the increase in Brussels, Rudi Janssens, a researcher from the VUB University, found out. Even though few speak it in their homes, more and more people in the capital know and use Dutch. The main reason lies in the excellent quality of Flemish schools, which are as a result becoming increasingly popular with people from all backgrounds.

French, on the other hand, is losing its dominant positions, as languages such as Arabic, Berber and English are on the rise.

Brussels is therefore no longer a city with a (French-speaking) majority and a (Dutch- speaking) minority, but rather a city with different minorities living side by side. Maybe it is time for Reynders, who speaks excellent Dutch, to get to know this new reality.