Belgium: Politicians want to shake off country’s “dull” image
Those of you who have shunned Belgium because of its reputation as a rather dull place will be delighted to know that it is trying very hard to cultivate a more trendy image. The Observer reports that “Dull Belgium wants to be as hip as Holland”; with sweeping social changes being driven by the country’s politicians. Last year euthanasia was made legal, gay weddings were legalised last week, and there is a lot of pressure for cannabis to be decriminalised, and while there are no “coffee shops” like those in the Netherlands, the newspaper reports that “the smell of marijuana hangs heavy in the air of bars and clubs” in Belgium’s towns and cities. There is even said to have been a marked change in attitude towards prostitution. A spokesman for the Belgian magazine Che said: “Belgium has an image as a very small, very dull country where nothing happens apart from EU summits. But maybe people will start to notice that it has much, if not more to offer than other European countries.” You heard it here first (unless you read the Observer!).
