From the end of the 19th century up until the 1950s, most of rural Flanders was dirt poor. No less than 500,000 people left for Wallonia, to work in coal mines and steel mills or on large farms. Most of them never returned. At first, the Flemish were looked down upon in Wallonia, but over the years they have completely integrated.

This large-scale migration changed the country. It explains why so many francophone politicians have names that sound Flemish. In the names of (Laurette) Onkelinx and (Didier) Reynders – two French-speaking ministers – one can still hear their ancestors’ Limburg roots.

The name of disgraced Walloon minister-president Jean-Claude Van Cauwenberghe has a distinct Flemish ring to it, too. This phenomenon explains the Walloon’s attachment to the idea of Belgium (although that sentiment is greater still in Brussels) and the fondness that often exists on a personal level between Walloons and Flemings, no matter how heated the political situation gets.

These days, the economic situation is completely reversed, as the traditional industries of Wallonia have declined (in the same way as they have, for instance, in the north of England), leaving behind an industrial wasteland and massive unemployment, while Flanders has shaped a more modern economic future for itself. As a result, rich Flanders partly “sustains” poor Wallonia these days, which causes a lot of resentment.

Still, that, too, may only be a temporary situation. Geert Noels, a well-respected economist, warns of the “Wallonisation” of Flanders. Yes, we do have a prolific work force and a more modern economy, but Flanders also faces rising unemployment and a growing state sector. Noels fears for the increasing influence of trade unions, a mounting dislike of entrepreneurship and a lack of initiative. At the same time, Wallonia shows small signs of economic recovery, especially in Walloon Brabant.

Noels’ warning is not just idle words. Flemish minister-president Kris Peeters more or less echoed them when he warned about complacency. There was a time when Flanders’ motto was “what we do ourselves, we do better”. Somehow, that does not ring true as much as we would like it to.