The Economist - USA (2021-07-17)

The Economist July 17th 2021 17
Letters

PoliticsinSweden
I noticedanimportantmis­
conceptioninyourarticle
aboutthepoliticalsituationin
Sweden(“Theninelivesof
Lofven”,June26th).Youstated
thattheJanuaryaccordthat
allowedtheformationofthe
SocialDemocratic­Green
governmentwasnegotiated
notonlywithmyownliberal
CentrePartybutalsowiththe
formercommunistLeftParty.
Itemphaticallywasnot.The
pointoftheaccordwasto
excludebothright­andleft­
wingextremeparties,while
initiatingmajorstructural
reforms,notablyofthelabour
market.I wasoneofthepoli­
ticianswhonegotiatedthis
agreementwiththeprime
minister,includingtheclause
explicitlyexcludinginfluence
fortheLeftParty.
Whatwedidnotanticipate
wasthattheextremeswould
laterunite,theLeftParty
votingforthepopulistand
xenophobicSwedenDemo­
crats’motionofnoconfidence
inStefanLofven,hurling
Swedenintoa politicalcrisis.
TheCentrePartyisnowthe
soleremainingpoliticalforce
ontheliberalcentre­right
opposingthedirectinfluence
oftheSwedenDemocratsover
ourgovernment.
martinadahl
CentrePartympandnegotiator
oftheJanuaryaccord
Stockholm

Church and state
Given the manner in which Joe
Biden’s Catholic faith has been
worn in public, why is it so
surprising that many bishops
feel compelled to show their
disapproval of his support for
abortion, a practice that the
church regards to be especially
heinous (“Biden and the bish­
ops”, June 26th)?
Catholicism allows certain
space for a well­formed con­
science. But your conscience
can’t tell you, let alone suggest
publicly to the whole world,
that something the church’s
authority explicitly forbids is
in fact okay. If some promi­
nent Democrat trumpeted
something flagrantly out of

linewitha coreDemocratic

plank,wouldwebeshocked

wereMrBidenandotherparty

leaderspubliclytocorrectthe

record,potentiallysanctioning

thatindividual?

danielbrendel

Alexandria,Virginia

Gunsandtheconstitution

YourreviewofCarolAnder­

son’sbookontheSecond

Amendmentwastookindin

discussingherstrangetheory

thatit wasdesignedtohelpthe

Southenforceslavery(“Double

standard”,June12th).Sucha

viewblatantlyoverlooksthe

importantrolethatourmilitia

playedintheFrenchand

IndianwarandtheAmerican

revolution,bothofwhich

predatedthedraftingofthe

constitution.

Italsoignorestheviewsof

African­Americanleaderslike

FrederickDouglass,whowrote

thefollowingwordstoencour­

ageblackmentoenlistinthe

Unionarmy:

In yourhandsthatmusket

meansliberty,andshouldyour

constitutionalrightsatthe

closeofthiswarbedenied...

yourbrethrenaresafewhile

youhavea constitutionwhich

proclaimsyourrighttokeep

andbeararms.

Notmuchdoubtabout

whereDouglassstoodonthe

issue.

johndirlam

Wellesley,Massachusetts

Customised state pensions

It is true that state pensions in

Britain might rise by an

unusually large percentage

next year, thanks to statistical

quirks (“Triple trouble”, June

26th). Some might say that

needs to happen, especially

given Britain’s low level of

public pension compared with

other countries, but affordabil­

ity is an issue. As you pointed

out, the programme to push

back the state­pension age,

which could reach 69 by 2050,

does reduce the cost. But this

approach also has a dispropor­

tionate impact on those with

lower life expectancies, who

are more affected by missing

outonearlierpayments.

Insteadofa one­size­fits­all

delay,weshouldintroducea

state­pensionwindow,a new

systemthatwouldretainthe

optionforpeopletoaccess

somelevelofstatepension

from65,withincentivesfor

otherstotakeit later.

rajmody

Headofpensions

PwC

London

There’ll always be a Belgium

Forty years ago The Economist

predicted that Belgium would

not last long (Survey of Belgi­

um, “A most unnatural coun­

try”, January 19th 1980). Now it

claims that Belgium is a failed

state and “in some ways, seces­

sion has already happened”

(Charlemagne, June 26th). You

could have noted that most of

the decisions and legislation

are taken at the federal level

and not in the regions, and

that the judicial system is

unified nationally (more so

than the British one). A glance

over the Belgian constitution

would have been instructive. 

According to recent polls, a

clear majority of citizens in the

three main parts of the country

reject the idea of secession.

Granted, the structure of gov­

ernment is expensive and

complicated, but a shrewd

citizen, as most Belgians are, is

able to understand the work­

ing of the institutions. More­

over, the checks and balances

in government have been very

attractive to refugees. They did

not come for the 199 rainy days

a year (Ireland has 225 by the

way), the beer, the chocolate or

the fries, or even for the

undeniable prosperity of the

country, but to find a safe

haven in a tolerant and trusted

democratic state. So many

have found a home in Belgium

during their exile.

ivan verougstraete

Former judge on the Belgian

supreme court

Brussels

True “Belgian zen” is not about

grey indifference, it’s about

actively choosing not to have

an opinion. Those are two

different things. Imagine a

country where you ought to

have an opinion about every­

thing if you don’t want to look

odd. Abracadabra: Brexit.

vincent bats

Antwerp

Charlemagne presented

Belgium as a grey, absurd and

highly bureaucratic country.

As a Belgian citizen living in

Britain I can confirm that a

“Belgitude” also helps to cope

with the grey weather, absurd

politics and bureaucracy on

this side of the channel.

damien van puyvelde

Glasgow

As an anti­nationalist Syrian

refugee in Belgium Charle­

magne has made me realise

that I am wholeheartedly

enthusiastic about becoming a

citizen of such a successful

failed state. It is telling that the

harshest critics of Belgian

culture are the Belgians them­

selves. It is bizarre to witness

the excitement of Belgians to

work with French or Dutch

people rather than their own. 

However, the Flemish and

the Walloons were never so

united as when France lost to

Switzerland in the recent Euro

football tournament (not even

when Belgium beat Portugal).

They taunted the French in

both Dutch and French.

alexandre al jaeger

Ghent

Belgium is also the only coun­

try where a politician can

erroneously sing the wrong

national anthem in front of the

television cameras and be­

come prime minister regard­

less shortly after. This hap­

pened to Yves Leterme, on­

and­off prime minister from

2008 to 2011, who was prompt­

ed by a reporter on Belgium’s

national day in 2007 to prove

he knew the anthem. He sang

the French La Marseillaise. 

markus haefliger

Bern, Switzerland

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