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Elections for the Federal Parliament are normally held every four years. The regional parliaments are elected every five years, and their elections coincide with those for the European Parliament. Elections for the members of Belgium's municipal and provincial councils are held every six. The next municipal and provincial elections in 2006 and the next general election will be in 2007, the next regional elections are expected in 2009.
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The Lower House is officially called Chambre des Représentants (in French) or Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers (in Dutch). In English, it is often called the Chamber of Deputies or the House of Representatives.
The major parties in the Lower House are the Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten and the Parti Socialiste, each with 25 seats; the Mouvement Réformateur with 24 seats; the alliance between the Socialistische Partij - Anders and SPIRIT with 23 seats; the Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams with 21 seats; and the far right Vlaams Blok.
The francophone Green Party has four seats, while the moderate Flemish nationalist N-VA and the francophone far right both have one deputy. The President of the Lower House is Herman De Croo (VLD).
The Princes and Princesses of the royal line are full members of the Senate: Prince Philippe, Princess Astrid and Prince Laurent sit in the Senate. The President of the Senate is Armand De Decker (PRL).
From the creation of the Belgian state in 1830 and throughout most of the 19th century, two political parties dominated Belgian politics: the Catholic Party (Church-oriented and conservative) and the Liberal Party ( anti-clerical and progressive). 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.
After World War II, the Catholic (now Christian Democratic) Party severed its formal ties with the Church. It became a mass party of the center, somewhat like a political party in the United States.
In 1968, the Christian Democratic Party, responding to linguistic tensions in the country, divided into two independent parties: the Parti Social Chrétien (PSC) in French-speaking Belgium and the Christelijke Volkspartij (CVP) in Flanders. The two parties pursue the same basic policies but maintain separate organizations. The CVP is the larger of the two, getting more than twice as many votes as the PSC. The chairman of the Flemish catholic party is now Yves Leterme. Deputy Joëlle Milquet is president of the francophone catholic party. Following the 1999 general elections , the CVP and PSC were 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). In 2002, the PSC also changed its name to cdH ( Centre démocrate humaniste).
The modern Belgian Socialist parties have lost much of their early Marxist trappings. They are now primarily labor-based parties similar to the German Social Democratic Party and the French Socialist Party. The Socialists have been part of several postwar governments and have produced some of the country's most distinguished statesmen. The Socialists also split along linguistic lines in 1978. Steve Stevaert is the current head of the Flemish Socialist Party and Elio Di Rupo is the current president of the Francophone Socialists. In general, the Walloon Socialists tend to concentrate on domestic issues. In the eighties, the Flemish Socialists focused heavily on international issues, and on security in Europe in particular, where they frequently opposed U.S. policies. However, first with Willy Claes, then Frank Vandenbroucke and with Erik Derycke as Foreign Minister, all three Flemish Socialists, the party made a significant shift to the center adopting less controversial stances on foreign policy issues.
The francophone Socialists are mainly based in the industrial cities of Wallonia ( Liège, Charleroi, and Mons). The Flemish Socialists' support is less regionally concentrated. The Flemish Socialists changed their party's name to SP.a ( Socialistische Partij anders) in 2002.
The Liberal Parties chiefly appeal to businesspeople, property owners, shopkeepers, and the self-employed, in general. In American terms the Liberals' positions would be considered to reflect an economically conservative ideology.
There are two Liberal parties, formed along linguistic lines: The Flemish Liberals and Democrats (VLD, Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten) who opened up their ranks to Volksunie defectors some years ago, are the largest political force in Belgium. The VLD is currently headed by Karel De Gucht, member of the Flemish regional parliament. The Party of Reform and Liberty (PRL) on the francophone side is headed by Antoine Duquesne , although Louis Michel, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, is generally considered to be the strong man. The PRL has formed an alliance with the christian-democratic split-off MCC. Brussels-based FDF and is particularly strong in Brussels. This alliance has taken the name Reformist Movement, Mouvement Réformateur.
A postwar phenomenon in Belgium 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. See Flemish movement.
The most militant Flemish regional party in Parliament in the 1950s and 1960s, the Volksunie (VU), once drew nearly one-quarter of Belgium's Dutch-speaking electorate away from the traditional parties. The Volksunie 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 founded Spirit, while the more traditional Flemish nationalist wing continued under the banner Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie (NV-A). A year later, a number of prominent Spirit politicians left the party to join the VLD.
Another special-interest party is the Front Democratique des Bruxellois Francophones ( FDF).
The Flemish ( Agalev) and francophone ( Ecolo) Ecologist parties made their Parliamentary breakthrough in 1981. They focus heavily on environmental issues and are the most consistent critics of U.S. policy. Following significant gains made in the 1999 general elections, the two green parties joined a federal coalition cabinet for the first time in their history, but were ousted after the next elections.
Another one-issue party is the far right Vlaams Blok (VB--Flemish Block) which broke away from the Volksunie in 1976. Originally a mainly Flemish regionalist and republican party, it has developed into the Flemish equivalent of the French National Front, concentrating on immigration positions, often accused with xenophobia and racism. Many studies shows that a major party (if not a majority) of the party's electorate oppose its separatist and republican standpoints. Long dismissed as a "fringe" party by mainstream politicians, the VB shocked observers when in the 1991 elections it posted respectable scores in much of Flanders, but especially in Antwerp, and in the following elections it scores even better. Party President is Euro-MP Frank Vanhecke, but Filip Dewinter is said by many to be the party's real leader.
Equally opposed to the presence of immigrants is the Front National. Officially, it is a bilingual party, but in reality, it is a purely French-speaking group.
The German speaking parties do not play an important role on federal level. The main German speaking parties are the CSP (christian-democratic), the PFF (liberal), the SP (social-democratic) and PJUPDB (regionalist).
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