Why Belgium’s prime minister isn’t cheering on the Red Devils

Ah, Belgium. The country of fries, chocolate, Kevin De Bruyne and, some might say, chronic political division. Beyond Brussels, a mighty international melting pot, the country is split between Dutch-speaking Flanders, French-speaking Wallonia and a small German-speaking community.

Those linguistic divisions are mirrored in its politics: Belgium has separate party systems on either side of the language border, as well as a highly devolved federal structure that gives significant powers to its regions. Today, Belgian politics is as fragmented as ever. It took 234 days to form a federal government after the June 2024 election (yes, you read that right).

The delay was driven largely by the fact that no camp came close to winning a majority, forcing months of negotiations between parties with sharply different ideological and linguistic bases. Flemish nationalism has also become a growing force, shaped by two right-wing nationalist parties: the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), which wants to transform Belgium into a looser confederal state and ultimately give Flanders far greater autonomy, and the far-right Vlaams Belang, which openly campaigns for Flemish independence. So, you might think the 2026 World Cup would offer Belgium’s leader a rare opportunity to rally and unify the country behind a shared national symbol, right?

Wrong. Prime Minister Bart De Wever, who hails from the N-VA party, has expressed almost no public support for the Red Devils, Belgium’s national soccer team. That contrasts with leaders in nearby countries that also qualified for the World Cup.

The leaders of the Netherlands, Germany and France have all publicly backed their squads, whether on social media or through public appearances. The reason may be simple: De Wever just doesn’t care for the sport. A Belgian official told POLITICO: “The prime minister is not a soccer fan, so he doesn't seek to project that image publicly.

To do otherwise would not be authentic.” Flemish media have indeed reported t