Learn how to conduct politics without disrupting lives

I spent a cold one week this past week oscillating between Belgium and the Netherlands. Amid the biting chill, these are a warm and industrious people. They have created great nations that are centuries ahead of us in physical and economic development. One cannot help but be jealous of the order that defines how things are done. The infrastructure is zillions of years ahead of our superhighways. Oh, that the Nairobi-Nakuru highway would one day benefit from such upgrade! Many of us would emulate Kipchoge and easily try the trip in under two hours – possibly a record 1:39 instead of the current 4:59 – of course by car and with many pacemakers.

Being a Kenyan, however, benchmarking on development is usually secondary. What really strokes our tickle is politics. And so, we got talking about local politics – especially of my host country, Belgium. As the headquarters of the European Union, one would imagine that Belgium would be the pacesetter in political stability. But nay. Belgium is struggling politically. Sharp divisions between the Flanders north and the Wallonia south are threatening to split the nation into two. Flanders is the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, making up the largest part of the country’s population at 68 per cent.