Politics of Flanders

Flandersis both acultural communityand aneconomic regionwithin theBelgian state,and has significant autonomy.

Historically, the contemporaryFlemish community(or nation, as some Flemings see it) grew out of theCatholicsouthern part of the medievalXVII provincesof theLow Countries.The contemporary Belgian Flanders area was divided within several feudal states. The most important states were theCounty of Flanders(except for itssouthernmost areas), the southern part of theDuchy of Brabant(except for the area aroundNivelles) and thenorthern partof theBishopric of Liège.Most of these states were united from 1384 to 1530 under theBurgundian Netherlands

Today, the Flemish community has a significant amount of political autonomy. Its institutions include theFlemish Parliamentand aFlemish Government,both institutions of the region and community, with legislative powers for most matters and prescribed by theBelgian constitution.Residual powers rest with the federal layer, theBelgian ParliamentandGovernment,or on the European layer (European Union).

Since 25 July 2014, theMinister-President of Flandershas beenGeert Bourgeois(N-VA), leading a coalition government ofN-VA,CD&V,andOpen VLD.

Political system[edit]

Flanders is a part of theBelgian federal parliamentary representative democratic monarchy,which itself is part of theEuropean Union.The political system in Flanders has an executive branch, theFlemish Governmentand a representative branch, theFlemish Parliament.TheMinister-President of Flandersis thehead of government.Flanders has a rather fragmented pluriform multi-party system. Politics is influenced by lobby groups, such astrade unions;mutual health insurance organizations and business interests in the form of theVOKA,UNIZOand some other employer's federations.

Institutional framework[edit]

European Unionlegislation and theBelgian constitutionform the major elements of the wider institutional environment. European Union legislation is said to currently define the scope and limits for 70% of new legislation. The Belgian constitution establishes the framework for the autonomy in both community and regional affairs. The two relevant Flemish parliamentary assemblies then immediately decided that theFlemish Communitywas to absorb all the competencies of theFlemish Region.Since then, the region has no 'distinctive' parliament, nor government. European Union law, Flemish legislation and the Belgian constitution thus form the primary source of law and the basis of the political system in Flanders.

Flemish Government[edit]

The executive branch of government consists of a limited number ofministersdrawn from thepolitical partieswhich, in practice, form the governmentcoalition.The ministers are appointed by theFlemish Parliament.The Cabinet is chaired by the FlemishMinister-President.Ministers head executive departments of the government. Ministers must defend their policies and performance, in person, before the Chamber. The Flemish Government must receive and keep the confidence of theFlemish Parliament.

Provincial and local government[edit]

Flanders is divided into 5 provinces, plus the local Flemish institutions in Brussels (the 'Vlaamse Gemeenschaps-Commissie' (VGC), and around 300municipalities.Provincial and local government are an exclusive competency of the regions. The provincial governments are primarily administrative units, and are politically weak. A governor is appointed by Flemish government, and approved by the Flemish parliament. One governor presides over each province. The governor is supported by an elected Provincial Council of 47 to 84 members.

Municipal governments, on the other hand, are important political entities with significant powers, and a history of independence dating frommedievaltimes. Many national politicians have a political base in a municipality, often doubling asmayororaldermanin their own hometowns.

Electoral system[edit]

Several months before an election, each party forms a list of candidates for each district. Parties are allowed to place as many candidates on their "ticket" as there are seats available. The formation of the list is an internal process that varies with each party. The place on the list influences the election of a candidate, but its influence has diminished since the last electoral reform. Individual votes will get priority.

Political campaigns are relatively short, and there are restrictions on the use ofbillboards.For all of their activities, campaigns included, political parties have to rely on government subsidies and dues paid by their members. An 'electoral expenditure' law restricts expenditure of political parties during an electoral campaign. Because of the huge public bureaucracy, the high politicisation of nominations, and the widely accepted practice that political nominees spend many man-hours paid for by all tax-payers for partisan electioneering, this arrangement favours the ruling political parties. Since no single party holds an absolute majority, the strongest party or party family will usually create a coalition with other parties to form the government.

Voting is compulsory; more than 90% of the population participates. Elections for theFlemish Parliamentare normally held every five years. The elections coincide with those for theEuropean Parliament.Elections for municipal and provincial councils are held every six years. The next federal election will be held in 2024, the next community and regional elections are expected in 2024 as well and the next municipal and provincial elections in 2024.

Political parties in Flanders[edit]

Flemish political partiesare many and varied. They operate in theFlemish regionand in the bilingualBrussels-Capital Region.Francophone parties operate inFlemish Regiononly in a few areas bordering the latter. There are no major representative parties operating all overBelgium.Flemish politics is dominated by political parties representing the different ideologies that can be found everywhere inFlanders.There are no political parties specific for certain sub-regions.

From the creation of the Belgian state in 1830, and throughout most of the 19th century, two unified political parties dominated Belgian politics: theCatholic Party(Church-oriented andconservative) and theLiberal Party(anti-clericalandprogressive). In the late 19th century the Socialist Party arose to represent the emerging industrial working class.

These three groups still dominate Belgian politics, but they have evolved substantially in character. In addition, several other parties were founded, notably theVlaams Belang,a right wing, anti-immigration and Flemish-nationalistic party and currently the second most important party in Flanders,Volksunie,which split into the left-liberal SPIRIT and the right-conservative N-VA, for moderate Flemish nationalists, andAgalev,currently calledGroen!for theGreens.

Catholics/Christian Democrats[edit]

AfterWorld War II,the Catholic (now Christian Democratic) Party severed its formal ties with the Church. It became a mass party of the centre.

In 1968, theChristian Democratic Party,responding to linguistic tensions in the country, divided into two independent parties: theParti Social Chrétien(PSC) in French-speaking Belgium and theChristelijke Volkspartij(CVP) in Flanders. The two parties pursue the same basic policies but have wholly separate organizations.

The CVP is the larger of the two, getting more than twice as many votes as the PSC. Following the1999 general elections,the CVP was ousted from office, bringing an end to a 40-year term on the government benches. In 2001, the CVP changed its name to CD&V (Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams). The current chairman of the CD&V isSammy Mahdi.

Socialists/Social Democrats[edit]

TheSocialist Party – Differently(SP.a,Socialistische Partij Anders) has shed nearly all of its earlyMarxistideology. It is now primarily a social-democratic party, similar to labor-based parties like theGerman Social Democratic Party.The Socialists have been part of several postwar governments.

It was formerly known as theSocialistische Partij(SP), which in turn had branched off from theBelgische Socialistische Partij(BSP), formed by former members of theBelgische Werklieden Partij(BWP). The Socialists split along linguistic lines in 1978. The Flemish Socialists changed their party's name to SP.a (Socialistische Partij Anders) in 2002.Bruno Tobbackis the current head of the Flemish Socialist Party.

As a reaction to the more centrist course of the SP.a, two former SP.a-representatives, Jef Sleeckx and Lode Van Outrive, formed, together withcommunistandTrotskyistactivists, a new socialist movement in 2006, theCommittee for Another Policy.

Liberals/Liberal Democrats[edit]

The Liberal Party chiefly appeals to business-people, property owners, shopkeepers, and the self-employed, in general. In American terms the Liberals' economic positions would be considered to reflect a moderate conservative ideology.

TheOpen Flemish Liberals and Democrats(OpenVLD,Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten), who opened up their ranks toVolksuniedefectors some years ago, were the largest political force in Flanders during the 1990s, but lost more than one third of their support after 7 years of liberal control of the post of prime minister byGuy Verhofstadt.The Open VLD is currently headed byAlexander De Croo.

Over the last decade, a number of parties originated, as break away parties from the VLD. These wereLiberaal Appèl,founded byWard Beysen,VLOTT,founded byHugo CoveliersandLijst Dedecker,founded byJean-Marie Dedecker.These parties advocated classical liberal economics and a more rightwing approach to society, and accused the VLD of shifting fundamentally to the left.

Communists[edit]

TheKommunistische Partij(KP) is the successor in Flanders of theKommunistische Partij van België(KPB), the firstcommunistparty in Belgium. This party was founded in 1921, but disappeared from theBelgian Parliamentafter theelections of 1985.

The most successfulMaoistmovement to emerge in Flanders wasAlle Macht Aan De Arbeiders(AMADA - All Power To The Workers) at the end of the 1960s during a time of students protests at theUniversity of Leuven.In 1979 this movement evolved into thePartij van de Arbeid van België(PVDA), which is at the moment the biggest marxist party in Flanders (3,24% of the popular vote in the latestfederal elections) and is represented in some municipal and provincial councils in Flanders, but not in theFlemish Parliament.Through the French-speaking electoral college, the party is represented in theFederal Parliament.

Other minor communist parties are theTrotskyistSocialistische Arbeiderspartij(SAP) and theLinkse Socialistische Partij(LSP).

Linguistic parties[edit]

A specific phenomenon was the emergence of one-issue parties whose only reason for existence was the defense of the cultural, political, and economic interests of one of the linguistic groups or regions of Belgian society. SeeFlemish movement.

The most militant Flemish regional party in Parliament in the 1950s and 1960s, theVolksunie(People's Union), once drew nearly one-quarter of Belgium's Dutch-speaking electorate. It was in the forefront of a successful campaign by the country's Flemish population for cultural and political parity with the nation's long dominant French-speaking population. However, in recent elections the party has suffered severe setbacks. In October 2001 the party disintegrated. The left-liberal wing foundedSpirit,later called theSocial Liberal Party,while the more traditional Flemish nationalist wing continued under the bannerNieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie(N-VA). After a disappointing result in theregional elections of 2009,the Social Liberal Party decided to fuse with the Flemish ecologists ofGroen!

TheVlaams Blokwas another party created out of the Volksunie in 1978. In 2004 it disbanded and reformed asVlaams Belangafter a conviction for violating theAnti-Racism Law.It strongly advocated Flemish independence and the cultural assimilation of migrants. (see Nationalists/Conservatives below)

Ecologists/Greens[edit]

The Flemish ecologist partyAgalev(Anders GAan LEVen - To Start Living Differently) made its parliamentary breakthrough in 1981. As a traditionalgreenparty, the three core values of Agalev wereecology,peaceandparticipatory democracy.Following significant gains made in the1999 general elections,the green parties of both regions joined a federal coalition cabinet for the first time in their history, but were ousted after the next elections. Agalev subsequently changed its name toGroen!(Green!).

Nationalists/Conservatives[edit]

Another nationalist party is the rightwing nationalistVlaams Belang(Flemish Interest), the successor of theVlaams Blok(Flemish Block) which broke away from the Volksunie in 1976. Originally a mainly Flemish regionalist and republican party, the Vlaams Blok soon concentrated on anti-immigration themes, and was often accused ofxenophobiaandracism.Its viewpoints on ethical and moral issues is very conservative. Party chairperson was MEPFrank Vanhecke,butFilip Dewinteris considered by many to have been the party's real leader. Long dismissed as a "fringe" party by mainstream politicians, the Flemish Block shocked observers when in the 1991 elections it posted a relatively high percentage of votes in much of Flanders, especially inAntwerp.The party scored even better in later local, regional and federal elections and still seemed to be winning support in November 2006, but the party lost a seat in the federal elections in 2007.

TheVlaams Blokwas found to be operating contrary to the Belgian constitution for racism. In 2004, the Belgian Supreme Court upheld a decision of the Appeal Court of Ghent ruling that three organizations associated with the Vlaams Blok were in contempt of the 1981 Belgian law on racism and xenophobia, and that the party pursued permanent incitement to discrimination and racial segregation. The party was denied state funding and was therefore disbanded.Vlaams Bloksupporters saw the conviction as a politically motivated action, and point out that the constitution had to be changed to allow for the conviction. A new party (basically the same in organization, membership, initials, and party programme, excluding anything that could be seen as racist) was founded and labelledVlaams Belang(Flemish Interest).

Linguistic minority[edit]

TheUnion des Francophones(French:Union of Francophones) or UF is aBelgian electoral listwhich participates inregional,provincialand municipalelectionsin the Province ofFlemish Brabant.As the name suggests, its primary target are theFrench-speaking inhabitants of Flemish Brabant and particularly those who live inHalle-Vilvoordeand the predominantly French-speakingmunicipalities with linguistic facilitiesnear theBrussels-Capital Region.The UF is a cooperation between the three most importantFrench-speaking parties inBelgium:theMouvement Réformateur,theCentre Démocrate Humanisteand theParti Socialiste.The coalition wants an enlargement of the bilingualBrussels Capital Regionthrough the merger of variousmunicipalities with linguistic facilitieswith a large percentage of French-speakers, likeSint-Genesius-Rode,and opposes the splitting of the bilingualBrussels-Halle-Vilvoordeelectoral and judicial constituency.

The party currently has one representative in theFlemish Parliament,six in the provincial council of Flemish Brabant and dozens in several municipal councils.

Alliances[edit]

After the installation of a 5%electoral threshold,with private funding close to forbidden and public funding practically impossible (only for parties with at least one representative in parliament), some of the smaller parties have made alliances with a larger, more traditional party, especially in the Flemish Region. Parties in any alliance remain independent, but they would field candidates on one combined list at elections. In general, the smaller party/parties would be assured of gaining seats, and the larger party would be assured of obtaining a larger overall share of the vote. This was especially true for theCD&V / N-VA alliance,whereby CD&V became the largest party by votes in the Flemish regional elections, so therefore it could initiate coalition talks and the party could appoint the leader of the Flemish regional government.

TheVLD / Vivant / Liberaal Appel alliancedid not perform well in the polls. The alliance was renamedOpen VLDas of February 2007. The proposed SP.a / Spirit / Groen! alliance did not happen, instead theSP.a / Spirit alliancewent alone to the polls. Vlaams Belang formed an alliance with VLOTT, a break away party from the VLD, which advocates capitalist and rightwing liberal economic policies. TheVB / VLOTT allianceis negotiating with Lijst Dedecker to include them in the alliance, but the outcome is in the balance and is unlikely to happen.

The parties[edit]

Representative political parties[edit]

Following parties have consistent presence in the Flemish parliament:

Christian-Democratic and Flemish(Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams)
Flemish Interest(Vlaams Belang)
Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats(Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten)
Green(Groen)
List Dedecker(Lijst Dedecker)
New-Flemish Alliance(Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie)
Forward(Vooruit)
Union of Francophones(Union des Francophones)

Parties without representation in the Flemish Parliament[edit]

Belgische Unie/Union Belge(Belgian Union)
Committee for Another Policy(Comité voor een Andere Politiek)
Left Socialist Party(Linkse Socialistische Partij)
Liberaal Appèl(Liberal Appeal)
Vivant—part of the alliance VLD/VIVANT
VLOTT—part of the alliance VB/VLOTT
Workers Party of Belgium(Partij van de Arbeid van België)

External links[edit]

Media related toPolitics of Flandersat Wikimedia Commons