Much more interesting is disobedience – ongehoorzaamheid, though if there’s no punishment, then ongehoorzaamheid is a bit of a damp squib. Yes, cocking a snook at authority does add spice to life’s monotony. Or at least, that must have been at the back of Stijn Meuris’ mind in his recent publicly declared intention to be ongehoorzaam.

Only in a small place such as Flanders do you find people like Stijn. He’s a singer-cum-journalist- cum-film director. In a larger country he’d have probably contented himself with one of those jobs. But here it’s not unusual for creative people to multi-task.

Well, Stijn is fed up with the shenanigans of Belgian politicians, who seem to be constantly rearranging the deck chairs. For him, “De politici zeggen alles met een toon alsof het hen niet kan schelen – The politicians say everything as if they couldn’t care less. Ze lachen ons weg – They laugh at us.” His reason for this outburst is that a general election has been called for June and soon hoardings will be rising from the ground exhorting us to vote for one or another familiar face.

To express his frustration, Stijn wrote an article telling us that he gaat niet stemmen – is not going to vote. So what? you might ask. Well, since voting is compulsory in Belgium, such burgerlijke ongehoorzaamheid – civil disobedience comes with a price: a fine of €55 or een berisping – a caution. His newspaper article has stirred up a hornet’s nest. He was accused of calling for people not to vote. “Ik roep helemaal niet op om niet te gaan stemmen – I’m not at all calling (for people) not to go and vote.”

On the plus side, his article has provoked others to try to persuade him to go to the polling station. One eloquent reply picked up on Stijn Meuris’ description of himself as a dissatisfied klant van de overheid – customer of the government and suggested rather that he was an aandeelhouder – shareholder. So withholding your vote would have the effect of reducing the value of your shares.

Yet Stijn is not alone. The enfant terrible of Flemish literature Jeroen Olyslaegers sums up his feelings thus: “Ik begin te vermoeden dat het misschien wel je burgerplicht mag zijn om niet te gaan stemmen – I’m beginning to think that it is perhaps your civil duty not to go and vote.”

We’ll see in June how many think the same.