Keeping Up Appearances: Belgium Launches International PR Campaign

Leading newspapers in Britain, France and Spain, as well as the BBC, are collaborating with the Belgian authorities to improve the international image of Belgium. Last month, Belgium’s interim government ordered the Belgian ambassadors abroad to spin the international media “to promote a positive image of Belgium.” The ambassadors were told to take “informal” and “discrete” initiatives which must “result in positive radio and television broadcasts or newspaper articles” in the foreign media. They should, however, avoid press conferences because these might have “the opposite effect.”

Apparently, the ambassadors in London, Paris and Madrid have already been able to arrange interviews of Belgian Interim Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt with The Financial Times and BBC World (Britain), Le Monde (France) and El Pais (Spain). The interviews with Le Monde and BBC World were taped recently; the interviews with El Pais and the FT are scheduled next week.

Since last June’s general elections the Belgian politicians have been unable to form a regular government. The country currently has an “interim” government, led by Guy Verhofstadt. Mr. Verhofstadt lost the elections, but was asked by Belgian King Albert II to form a new government because the politicians from Flanders, the Dutch-speaking north of the country, and from Wallonia, the French-speaking south were unable to agree on constitutional reforms. Flanders wants more autonomy, but Wallonia, which lives on Flemish welfare subsidies, refuses to agree to that.

The Belgian Prime Minister’s cabinet confirmed to the Belgian press that the PM’s interviews are part of a coordinated PR campaign to convey the message that Belgium is not about to fall apart because “federal countries like Belgium rewrite their constitution every two decades.”

It is unclear what Belgium has given Le Monde, the BBC, The Financial Times and El Pais in return for the interviews. The Belgian government has set aside a budget of 1 million euros for a publicity campaign which includes ads in The Economist and the FT and on various financial websites, as well as commercials on CNN, BBC World, Deutsche Welle and CNBC.