Answer

Most Socialists considered the Flemish Question to be an elitist matter because it only involved “the Flemish language, everlasting ancestry and a grandiose history” and never “Flemish bread, Flemish wages or Flemish misery” – nor did Flamingants ever reach a unanimous view on the Socialists´ principal demand, the introduction of universal single-vote suffrage. In addition, the Flemish Question was preceived as a conservative and clerical “manoeuvre” designed to take the wind out of Socialism´s sails. Furthermore, the Second International – an international association of Socialistist organisations in the period 1889-1940 – contributed to giving Belgian Socialism an anti-nationalist profile. Belgian Socialists preached solidarity between all workers irrespective of language, ethnicity or national boundaries. Finally, one also needs to take into account that the French-speaking wing was by far the strongest in Belgian Socialism.

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