Federal elections were held in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
on 10 June 2007. Voters went to the polls in order to elect new members for the
Chamber of Representatives and
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
.
Eligible voters were
Belgian
Belgian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to, Belgium
* Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent
* Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German
*Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...
citizens 18 years and older. There was a legal
electoral threshold
The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of the primary vote that a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can ...
of 5% for political parties to meet to receive representation, but in several election districts the real electoral threshold is higher than the legal, due to the small number of seats to be elected in the particular district. The 150 members of the Chamber of Representatives were elected from 11 electoral districts. The 40 Senate members were elected from the Dutch (25) and Francophone (15) electoral colleges.
Of the Flemish parties, the alliance of
Christian Democratic and Flemish
Christian Democratic and Flemish (, , CD&V) is a Flemish Christian-democratic political party in Belgium. The party has historical ties to both trade unionism ( ACV) and trade associations (UNIZO) and the Farmer's League. Until 2001, the party wa ...
party (CD&V) and the
New-Flemish Alliance
The New Flemish Alliance ( nl, Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie, N-VA) is a Flemish nationalist and conservative political party in Belgium. The party was founded in 2001 by the right-leaning fraction of the centrist-nationalist People's Union (VU).
T ...
(N-VA) received an increased share of the vote from the previous election, held in 2003. The CD&V/N-VA list was headed by
Yves Leterme
Yves Camille Désiré Leterme (; born 6 October 1960 in Wervik) is a Belgian politician, a leader of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party (CD&V). He was the prime minister of Belgium, from November 2009 to December 2011.
Leterme was the ...
, and became the largest political formation in Belgium, thus leading the coalition talks for a new government.
Vlaams Belang
, ideology =
, predecessor = Vlaams Blok
, position =
, europarl = Identity and Democracy
, european = Identity and Democracy Party
, youth_wing = Vlaams Belang Jongeren
, colours =
, ...
received more votes than in the previous election, but lost one seat.
Groen!
Groen (English: Green; nl, Groen, ), founded as Agalev (see Name below), is a green Flemish political party in Belgium. Its French-speaking equivalent is Ecolo; the two parties maintain close relations with each other.
Party history
Before 1 ...
was able to return to parliament and newcomers
Lijst Dedecker
Libertarian, Direct, Democratic ( nl, Libertair, Direct, Democratisch; LDD) is a conservative-liberal, libertarian, right-wing populist Flemish political party in Belgium.
The party surprised commentators by winning five seats in the Chamber and ...
surprised most by immediately grabbing six seats, including one in the Senate. Prime minister
Guy Verhofstadt
Guy Maurice Marie Louise Verhofstadt (; ; born 11 April 1953) is a Belgian politician who was the leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe from 2009 to 2019, and has been a member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Belgium ...
's "
purple coalition
Purple is a common term in politics for governments or other political entities consisting of parties that have red and blue as their political colours. It is of particular note in three countries. In the politics of the Netherlands and Belgium, ...
," consisting of his
Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats
french: Libéraux et démocrates flamands ouverts
, abbreviation = Open Vld
, logo =
, leader1_title = President
, leader1_name = Egbert Lachaert
, foundation = 1992 (VLD)2007 (Open Vld)
, predecessor = Pa ...
(Open Vld) alliance list and
Socialist Party – Different
Vooruit (Dutch for Forward, ) is a Flemish social democratic political party in Belgium. The party was known as the Flemish Socialist Party (1978–2001: ''Socialistische Partij'', SP; 2001–2021: ''Socialistische Partij Anders'', SP.A) until 2 ...
(sp.a/spirit), was punished in the election, with the sp.a/spirit alliance losing somewhat more than Verhofstadt's Open Vld alliance. The day after the election, Verhofstadt handed in the resignation of his government to King
Albert II. SP.A leader
Johan Vande Lanotte
Johan Cyrille Corneel Vande Lanotte (born 6 July 1955) is a Belgian politician. He is a member of the SP.A, and became its party president on 15 October 2005. He handed down his leadership positions after the SP.A lost in the 2007 general elec ...
resigned from his leadership position as well that day.
The Francophone situation did not mirror its Flemish counterpart. While Verhofstadt's Open Vld struggled, its Francophone sister party
Mouvement Réformateur
The Reformist Movement (french: Mouvement Réformateur, MR) is a liberalism in Belgium, liberal French Community of Belgium, French-speaking Political parties in Belgium, political party in Belgium. MR is traditionally a Conservative liberalism, c ...
managed to defeat the long-dominant
Parti Socialiste (PS), although the PS remained strong in
Hainaut and
Liège
Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège.
The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...
. The
Humanist Democratic Centre
Humanist Democratic Centre (french: Centre Démocrate Humaniste, CDH) was a Christian democratic and centrist French-speaking political party in Belgium. The party originated in the split in 1972 of the unitary Christian Social Party (PSC-CVP) w ...
brought in a positive result as well, but the biggest gains were for the environmentalist party
Ecolo
Ecolo, officially Écologistes Confédérés pour l'organisation de luttes originales'', (English: Confederate Ecologists for the Organisation of Original Struggles)'' is a French-speaking political party in Belgium based on green politics. The ...
.
The overall outcome of the elections was that the liberal fraction (MR, Open Vld) became the largest group in parliament with, followed by the Christian Democrats (CD&V, cdH) and N-VA with 40 seats. The electoral alliance between the Flemish CD&V and N-VA parties became the biggest single parliamentary grouping (25 seats for CD&V and 5 for N-VA).
Background
The previous
general election in 2003 had resulted in a coalition between the socialist parties
sp.a
Vooruit (Dutch for Forward, ) is a Flemish social democratic political party in Belgium. The party was known as the Flemish Socialist Party (1978–2001: ''Socialistische Partij'', SP; 2001–2021: ''Socialistische Partij Anders'', SP.A) until 2 ...
/
spirit
Spirit or spirits may refer to:
Liquor and other volatile liquids
* Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks
* Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol
* Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...
(Flemish) and the
Parti Socialiste (Francophone), and the centrist liberal-democratic parties
VLD
french: Libéraux et démocrates flamands ouverts
, abbreviation = Open Vld
, logo =
, leader1_title = President
, leader1_name = Egbert Lachaert
, foundation = 1992 (VLD)2007 (Open Vld)
, predecessor = P ...
/
Vivant
Vivant is a small social-liberal political party in Belgium founded by millionaire Roland Duchâtelet. In the regional elections in June 2004, the party formed a strategic alliance with the Flemish Liberals and Democrats (VLD). Both parties are ...
(Flemish) and
MR (Francophone), with
Guy Verhofstadt
Guy Maurice Marie Louise Verhofstadt (; ; born 11 April 1953) is a Belgian politician who was the leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe from 2009 to 2019, and has been a member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Belgium ...
of the VLD to retaining his position of
Prime Minister of Belgium
german: Premierminister von Belgien
, insignia = State Coat of Arms of Belgium.svg
, insigniasize = 100px
, insigniacaption = Coat of arms
, insigniaalt =
, flag = Government ...
until 2007.
Parties
Only parties who fielded candidates for the Belgian Senate are listed.
Flemish parties (Dutch speaking)
These Flemish parties field candidates in the regions of
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
and the partially bilingual electoral district
Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde
The area within Belgium known as Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde encompasses the bilingual— French and Dutch—Brussels-Capital Region, which coincides with the arrondissement of Brussels-Capital and the surrounding Dutch-speaking area of Halle-Vilvo ...
.
CD&V/N-VA
The
Christian Democratic and Flemish
Christian Democratic and Flemish (, , CD&V) is a Flemish Christian-democratic political party in Belgium. The party has historical ties to both trade unionism ( ACV) and trade associations (UNIZO) and the Farmer's League. Until 2001, the party wa ...
party (CD&V) is a
Christian Democratic
Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism.
It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...
party that has formed an alliance with the Flemish nationalist party
New-Flemish Alliance
The New Flemish Alliance ( nl, Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie, N-VA) is a Flemish nationalist and conservative political party in Belgium. The party was founded in 2001 by the right-leaning fraction of the centrist-nationalist People's Union (VU).
T ...
(N-VA). Most polls in the run-up to the election suggested that the alliance would win the election and become the largest political force in Flanders. It is led by
Yves Leterme
Yves Camille Désiré Leterme (; born 6 October 1960 in Wervik) is a Belgian politician, a leader of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party (CD&V). He was the prime minister of Belgium, from November 2009 to December 2011.
Leterme was the ...
, current prime minister of the Flemish Region and Community.
Having become the largest political party in the Belgian Chamber after the 2007 election, the alliance will become the fulcrum of the coalition talks for a new government. Commentators suggest that coalition talks will be difficult, as most Francophone parties see the alliance as being overly Flemish-dominated.
VB
It was the first time that the
Flemish Interest
, ideology =
, predecessor = Vlaams Blok
, position =
, europarl = Identity and Democracy
, european = Identity and Democracy Party
, youth_wing = Vlaams Belang Jongeren
, colours =
, ...
(Vlaams Belang, VB) had taken part in federal elections under its new name. Ostracized by all other political parties because of its views on foreigners and immigration, the VB is unlikely to take part in a new government. The VB's lists also included members of the right-liberal Flemish Liberal Independent Tolerant and Transparent party (
VLOTT
VLOTT is a minor Belgium, Belgian conservative liberalism, right-wing liberal or Fortuynism, fortuynist political party. Its title, ''VLOTT'', is an acronym for "Flemish, Liberal, Independent, Tolerant, Transparent" (''Vlaams, Liberaal, Onafhankeli ...
) of
Hugo Coveliers
Hugo F.V. Coveliers (born 21 February 1947) is a retired Belgian politician and lawyer. He was a member of the Belgian Chamber of People's Representatives between 1985 and 1995 and from 1993 to 2003. Since 2003 he has been a member of the Belgi ...
.
sp.a-spirit
The
Socialistische Partij Anders
Vooruit (Dutch for Forward, ) is a Flemish social democratic political party in Belgium. The party was known as the Flemish Socialist Party (1978–2001: ''Socialistische Partij'', SP; 2001–2021: ''Socialistische Partij Anders'', SP.A) until ...
is a social-democratic party and has formed a cartel list with the Flemish regionalist and left liberal party
Spirit
Spirit or spirits may refer to:
Liquor and other volatile liquids
* Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks
* Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol
* Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...
. Like their coalition partner VLD, they lost heavily in the election, which prompted sp.a party leader
Johan Vande Lanotte
Johan Cyrille Corneel Vande Lanotte (born 6 July 1955) is a Belgian politician. He is a member of the SP.A, and became its party president on 15 October 2005. He handed down his leadership positions after the SP.A lost in the 2007 general elec ...
to step down. Vande Lanotte made it also clear that the alliance will not take part in a federal government whose sole concern is state reform.
Open VLD
Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats
french: Libéraux et démocrates flamands ouverts
, abbreviation = Open Vld
, logo =
, leader1_title = President
, leader1_name = Egbert Lachaert
, foundation = 1992 (VLD)2007 (Open Vld)
, predecessor = Pa ...
(Open Vld) is the alliance list of the
Flemish Liberals and Democrats
french: Libéraux et démocrates flamands ouverts
, abbreviation = Open Vld
, logo =
, leader1_title = President
, leader1_name = Egbert Lachaert
, foundation = 1992 (VLD)2007 (Open Vld)
, predecessor = Pa ...
(VLD) of prime minister
Guy Verhofstadt
Guy Maurice Marie Louise Verhofstadt (; ; born 11 April 1953) is a Belgian politician who was the leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe from 2009 to 2019, and has been a member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Belgium ...
, and the small liberal political parties
Vivant
Vivant is a small social-liberal political party in Belgium founded by millionaire Roland Duchâtelet. In the regional elections in June 2004, the party formed a strategic alliance with the Flemish Liberals and Democrats (VLD). Both parties are ...
(left-liberal) and
Liberal Appeal
The Liberal Appeal ( nl, Liberaal Appèl, LA) was a Flemish conservative-liberal political party.
Founded on March 22, 2002 by the liberal MEP Ward Beysen (1941-2005) as a secession of the VLD, mostly in Antwerp. The Liberaal Appèl was fir ...
(Liberaal Appèl) (right-liberal).
The VLD has seen some infighting in the last years, resulting in two prominent members leaving the party,
Hugo Coveliers
Hugo F.V. Coveliers (born 21 February 1947) is a retired Belgian politician and lawyer. He was a member of the Belgian Chamber of People's Representatives between 1985 and 1995 and from 1993 to 2003. Since 2003 he has been a member of the Belgi ...
(VLOTT) and
Jean-Marie Dedecker
Jean-Marie Louis Dedecker (born 13 June 1952) is a Belgian politician.
In 1999 and 2003, Dedecker was directly elected to the Belgian Senate for the Flemish Liberals and Democrats (VLD). In 2004 Dedecker ran for a seat in the Flemish Parliament ...
(
Lijst Dedecker
Libertarian, Direct, Democratic ( nl, Libertair, Direct, Democratisch; LDD) is a conservative-liberal, libertarian, right-wing populist Flemish political party in Belgium.
The party surprised commentators by winning five seats in the Chamber and ...
). After the
2006 municipal elections, the party had tried to revamp itself with the newly named Open Vld cartel, under direction of noted political strategist
Noël Slangen.
Groen!
Groen!
Groen (English: Green; nl, Groen, ), founded as Agalev (see Name below), is a green Flemish political party in Belgium. Its French-speaking equivalent is Ecolo; the two parties maintain close relations with each other.
Party history
Before 1 ...
is an ecological party, and the successor of Agalev. It hoped to make a return to the federal legislature after being wiped out in the
2003 general election. They managed to return to the Belgian parliament with four House seats and one senate seat, but their result of 6.3% was below expectations.
LDD
List Dedecker
Libertarian, Direct, Democratic ( nl, Libertair, Direct, Democratisch; LDD) is a conservative-liberal, libertarian, right-wing populist Flemish political party in Belgium.
The party surprised commentators by winning five seats in the Chamber an ...
(Lijst Dedecker) is a liberal offshoot of the
Flemish Liberals and Democrats
french: Libéraux et démocrates flamands ouverts
, abbreviation = Open Vld
, logo =
, leader1_title = President
, leader1_name = Egbert Lachaert
, foundation = 1992 (VLD)2007 (Open Vld)
, predecessor = Pa ...
, founded by Belgian Senator
Jean-Marie Dedecker
Jean-Marie Louis Dedecker (born 13 June 1952) is a Belgian politician.
In 1999 and 2003, Dedecker was directly elected to the Belgian Senate for the Flemish Liberals and Democrats (VLD). In 2004 Dedecker ran for a seat in the Flemish Parliament ...
and
Boudewijn Bouckaert
Boudewijn Bouckaert (born 21 July 1947) is a Belgian law professor, a member of the Flemish Movement, and a libertarian conservative thinker and politician. He was a Member of the Flemish Parliament for the liberal party List Dedecker. He is al ...
, chairman of the
Nova Civitas
Nova Civitas was a Flemish think tank based on the principles of classic liberalism in combination with Anglo-Saxon conservatism. Nova Civitas claimed at its founding to be completely independent, although it was recognized and supported by the Fl ...
think tank. The party surprised some who doubted it would clear the 5% electoral threshold by receiving 6.3% of the Flemish vote.
PVDA+
The
Workers Party of Belgium
The Workers' Party of Belgium (french: Parti du Travail de Belgique, PTB; nl, Partij van de Arbeid van België, PVDA; ) is a Marxist and socialist political party in Belgium. It is one of the few Belgian parties that is a fully national party, r ...
(Partij van de Arbeid van België) is a radical left wing party, of
Maoist
Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...
origin. Its lists also contain independent candidates. The PVDA almost doubled their votes, from 0.5% to 0.9%.
CAP
The
Committee for Another Policy
The Committee for Another Policy ( nl, Comité voor een Andere Politiek, french: Comité pour une Autre Politique), abbreviated to CAP, was a Belgian left-wing political movement that was established in 2005, and became a political party in 2006.
...
(Comité voor een Andere Politiek) is a bilingual left wing political movement, consisting of trade union militants, and political militants of communist,
Trotskyist
Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...
and socialist origin. It was formed in 2006 as a reaction to the more centrist course of the SP.a. Former SP.a-representative Jef Sleeckx is one of the co-founders. These elections were the first the movement participated in. They got 0.4% of the votes in Flanders.
Francophone parties (French speaking)
These
Francophone
French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...
parties fielded candidates in the
Walloon Region
Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...
and in the electoral district
Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde
The area within Belgium known as Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde encompasses the bilingual— French and Dutch—Brussels-Capital Region, which coincides with the arrondissement of Brussels-Capital and the surrounding Dutch-speaking area of Halle-Vilvo ...
.
PS
The
Parti Socialiste (PS) is a social-democratic party that took part in the
Verhofstadt I Government
The Verhofstadt I Government was the federal government of Belgium from 12 July 1999 to 12 July 2003.
It was the first government headed by Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt (VLD). It consisted of the Flemish Liberals and Democrats (VLD), the Fre ...
and the
Verhofstadt II Government
The Verhofstadt II Government was the federal government of Belgium from 12 July 2003 to 21 December 2007.
It was the second government headed by Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt ( VLD). It was formed after the 2003 general election. It consist ...
. It is unlikely that the PS will deliver Belgium's next prime minister, the last Francophone prime minister was
Paul Vanden Boeynants
Paul Emile François Henri Vanden Boeynants (; 22 May 1919 – 9 January 2001) was a Belgian politician.
Rulers. Retrieved 30 August 2014.< ...
in 1978-79. Largest competitor of the PS is the Mouvement Réformateur (MR), which just recently broke with the PS in
Charleroi
Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593. , after PS aldermen were charged with corruption.
MR
The
Mouvement Réformateur
The Reformist Movement (french: Mouvement Réformateur, MR) is a liberalism in Belgium, liberal French Community of Belgium, French-speaking Political parties in Belgium, political party in Belgium. MR is traditionally a Conservative liberalism, c ...
is a liberal party. It is a fusion of the
Liberal Reformist Party (PRL), the French-linguistic party
Democratic Front of Francophones
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
(FDF) and a breakaway fraction of the Christian democratic
Citizens' Movement for Change
Citizens' Movement for Change (french: Mouvement des Citoyens pour le Changement, MCC) is a Christian-democratic political party in the French Community of Belgium founded by Gérard Deprez in 1998.
Deprez was the leader of the Francophone Christ ...
(MCC). It had taken part in the federal government of Guy Verhofstadt, which included MR leader
Didier Reynders
Didier Reynders (; born 6 August 1958) is a Belgian politician and a member of the Mouvement Réformateur (MR) serving as European Commissioner for Justice since 2019. He held various positions in public institutions before becoming a member of t ...
as finance minister.
The MR clearly won the elections in the French-speaking Walloon region, and the bilingual Brussels-Capital Region, ousting the previously dominant Parti Socialiste. The MR campaigned on three major fronts: the need for an alternative to the PS, entangled in various scandals of corruption and accused of poor governance leading to unemployment and anachronistic political systems; the need for a new fiscal reform; lowering taxes and government grip on the economy; and finally friendliness and cooperation with its Flemish counterpart, Open VLD.
cdH
The
Centre Démocrate Humaniste
Humanist Democratic Centre (french: Centre Démocrate Humaniste, CDH) was a Christian democratic and centrist French-speaking political party in Belgium. The party originated in the split in 1972 of the unitary Christian Social Party (PSC-CVP) w ...
is a Christian democratic party. They made a small advance (0.4%) in these elections and finished with 15.8% of the votes.
Ecolo
Ecolo
Ecolo, officially Écologistes Confédérés pour l'organisation de luttes originales'', (English: Confederate Ecologists for the Organisation of Original Struggles)'' is a French-speaking political party in Belgium based on green politics. The ...
is a
Green party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...
. It made the largest gains of the 2007 election among Francophone parties and went from 7.5% to 12.8%.
FN
The
Front National
The National Rally (french: Rassemblement National, ; RN), until 2018 known as the National Front (french: link=no, Front National, ; FN), is a far-rightAbridged list of reliable sources that refer to National Rally as far-right:
Academic:
...
is a Franco-nationalist political movement known for its tough stances on immigration. They gained 5.6% of the vote, the same as in 2003.
CAP
The
Committee for Another Policy
The Committee for Another Policy ( nl, Comité voor een Andere Politiek, french: Comité pour une Autre Politique), abbreviated to CAP, was a Belgian left-wing political movement that was established in 2005, and became a political party in 2006.
...
(Comité pour une Autre Politique) was a bilingual left wing political movement, consisting of trade union militants, and political militants of communist,
Trotskyist
Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...
and socialist origin. It was formed in 2006 as a reaction to the more centrist course of the PS and the SP.a. Former FGTB-chairman
Georges Debunne
Georges Debunne (2 May 1918 – 21 September 2008) was a Belgian trade union leader.
Born in Menen, Debunne qualified as a teacher, and worked in Halle, joining the trade union. After World War II, he was elected as full-time secretary of t ...
was one of the co-founders. These elections were the first the movement participated in. The party got 0.2% of the votes in Hainaut and Liège, the two provinces where its candidates stood.
Issues
Good governance
CD&V used the theme of
good governance
Good governance is the process of measuring how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources and guarantee the realization of human rights in a manner essentially free of abuse and corruption and with due regard for th ...
as a breaking point against sp.a and VLD. The party claimed that unlike in the
Flemish Government
The Flemish Government ( nl, Vlaamse regering ) is the executive branch of the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region of Belgium. It consists of a government cabinet, headed by the Minister-President and accountable to the Flemish Parliament, a ...
, where CD&V leader Leterme heads a tripartite government, with CD&V, VLD and sp.a, the federal government lacked good governance. sp.a and VLD tried to counter this charge with similar examples in the Flemish Government of practices which CD&V accused them of.
Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde and constitutionality
With the federal elections looming, the problem of the electoral district of
Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde
The area within Belgium known as Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde encompasses the bilingual— French and Dutch—Brussels-Capital Region, which coincides with the arrondissement of Brussels-Capital and the surrounding Dutch-speaking area of Halle-Vilvo ...
(B-H-V) re-emerged. Because the federal government failed to comply with a ruling of the
Court of Arbitration A Court of Arbitration is a court, sometimes outside of the official judicial system of a country, that resolves certain kinds of civil disputes, primarily between industrial or commercial entities, or between employers and employees.
The Court o ...
which declared the provincial electoral districts compared to the two remaining arrondisemental ones in the former province of Brabant unconstitutional. According to the ruling of the Court of Arbitration the current situation would make federal elections impossible after 24 June 2007, so the new government will have to solve the situation. Several mayors in the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde area have threatened and actually have refused to compile the lists of electors. The governor took over their task.
Professor and constitutional expert
Paul Van Orshoven
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
*Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
* Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
from the
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
KU Leuven (or Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Belgium. It conducts teaching, research, and services in computer science, engineering, natural sciences, theology, humanities, medicine, l ...
declared that the elections would be unconstitutional. According to Van Orshoven there were two problems:
* As the previous election was held on Sunday 18 May 2003, the final date to hold elections (four years from the previous) would be Sunday, 13 May 2007.
* The Court of Arbitration gave the government the time to fix the B-H-V problem until the next elections. That hasn't happened, which means that the election results could be declared void.
Corruption in the Walloon Region
During the campaign new irregularities and corruption in PS-lead Charleroi emerged. The MR started using this as an example of why things in Wallonia under PS management were bad. The campaign became hostile and personal attacks between various MR, cdH and PS leaders dominated the campaign.
Armenian genocide
In the run-up to the election,
Johan Vande Lanotte
Johan Cyrille Corneel Vande Lanotte (born 6 July 1955) is a Belgian politician. He is a member of the SP.A, and became its party president on 15 October 2005. He handed down his leadership positions after the SP.A lost in the 2007 general elec ...
, leader of the
Socialist Party – Different
Vooruit (Dutch for Forward, ) is a Flemish social democratic political party in Belgium. The party was known as the Flemish Socialist Party (1978–2001: ''Socialistische Partij'', SP; 2001–2021: ''Socialistische Partij Anders'', SP.A) until 2 ...
, refused to acknowledge the
Turkish genocide on its Armenian minority in the midst of a controversy about the strong allegiance to Turkey expressed in Turkish at a meeting by a Turkish-Belgian CD&V Senate candidate, Ergün Top, but also in the aftermath of a similar problem aroused during the campaign for the
Dutch general election a few months earlier. The position of Yves Leterme (CD&V) on this issue was unclear at first, but he later confided to the Flemish parliament that he does acknowledge the Armenian genocide.
In 1998, the Belgian Senate had already passed a resolution acknowledging the Armenian genocide, including the support of SP (later sp.a) and CVP (later CD&V) senators.
Opinion polls
The polls conducted by the ''Stemmenkampioen'' site of ''
Het Laatste Nieuws
''Het Laatste Nieuws'' (; in English ''The Latest News'') is a Dutch-language newspaper based in Antwerp, Belgium. It was founded by Julius Hoste Sr. on 7 June 1888. It is now part of DPG Media, and is the most popular newspaper in Flanders and ...
'' and the
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) () is a Dutch and English-speaking research university located in Brussels, Belgium.The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is one of the five universities officially recognised by the Flemish Community, Flemish gov ...
br>
yield the following overall result for
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
, compared to the
2003 Belgian general election, 2003 Senate elections. ''
De Standaard
''De Standaard'' (meaning ''The Standard'' in English) is a Flemish daily newspaper published in Belgium by Mediahuis (formerly Corelio and VUM). It was traditionally a Christian-Democratic paper, associated with the Christian-Democratic and F ...
'' and the
VRT conducted a similar poll in November 2006, in March 2007 (the first poll in which
Lijst Dedecker
Libertarian, Direct, Democratic ( nl, Libertair, Direct, Democratisch; LDD) is a conservative-liberal, libertarian, right-wing populist Flemish political party in Belgium.
The party surprised commentators by winning five seats in the Chamber and ...
, a Flemish party founded in January 2007, was measured) and in May 2007.
Flanders
Wallonia
Brussels
Results
Chamber of Representatives
The newly constituted Chamber met for the first time on Thursday 28 June 2007, when the Representatives took the oath of office.
Senate
21
Community Senators and 10
Coopted Senators were also be appointed. The definite distribution is not known. On Thursday 28 June 2007, the directly-elected Senators took the oath of office. One week later, on 5 July 2007, the Community Senators took the oath, and two weeks later, on 12 July 2007, the Coopted Senators took the oath. On that day, the Senate was fully constituted.
Government formation
Due to differences in view with regards to constitutional reform between the Flemish and Francophone parties, the negotiations to form a new government proceeded with much difficulty.
On 13 June 2007, King
Albert II appointed MR leader
Didier Reynders
Didier Reynders (; born 6 August 1958) is a Belgian politician and a member of the Mouvement Réformateur (MR) serving as European Commissioner for Justice since 2019. He held various positions in public institutions before becoming a member of t ...
''
informateur
A formateur (French for "someone who forms, who constitutes") is a politician who is appointed to lead the formation of a coalition government, after either a general election or the collapse of a previous government. The role of the formateur i ...
'', (someone who assesses the possibilities for government coalitions). Prior to his appointment, in his position as party leader, Reynders had indicated his preference for a coalition of Christian Democratic parties CD&V (Flanders) and cdH (Wallonia) and liberal parties MR (Wallonia) and Open VLD (Flanders). Reynders presented his final report to the King on 4 July 2007. Following the report, King
Albert II appointed former
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Jean-Luc Dehaene
Jean Luc Joseph Marie "Jean-Luc" Dehaene (; 7 August 1940 – 15 May 2014) was a Belgian politician who served as the prime minister of Belgium from 1992 until 1999. During his political career, he was nicknamed "The Plumber" and "The Minesweep ...
as mediator to prepare the ground for the ''formateur'' and to look into the possibility of a state reform.
The King then appointed
Yves Leterme
Yves Camille Désiré Leterme (; born 6 October 1960 in Wervik) is a Belgian politician, a leader of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party (CD&V). He was the prime minister of Belgium, from November 2009 to December 2011.
Leterme was the ...
of the
CD&V
Christian Democratic and Flemish (, , CD&V) is a Flemish Christian-democratic political party in Belgium. The party has historical ties to both trade unionism ( ACV) and trade associations (UNIZO) and the Farmer's League. Until 2001, the party wa ...
as ''
formateur
A formateur (French for "someone who forms, who constitutes") is a politician who is appointed to lead the formation of a coalition government, after either a general election or the collapse of a previous government. The role of the formateur is ...
'' (giving him the task of forming a coalition). Negotiations were temporarily halted on 17 August to give the King the possibility to mediate. Upon the further failure of the negotiations, on 23 August Leterme resigned as formateur. As no acceptable mediator could be found, on 27 August, the King took the unusual step to consult 13 Ministers of State to find way out of the political crisis. At the end of August, the King appointed
Herman Van Rompuy
Herman Achille, Count Van Rompuy (; born 31 October 1947) is a Belgian politician, who served as the prime minister of Belgium from 2008 to 2009 and then as the first permanent president of the European Council from 2009 to 2014.
A politicia ...
(also CD&V and
President of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives since July) as ''explorateur'' (scout). Following Rompuy's report, Leterme was again appointed formateur on 15 September. After two months of further negotiations, Leterme was still unable to form a coalition and resigned as formateur for a second time on 1 December.
See also
*
2007–2011 Belgian political crisis
The 2007–2011 Belgian political crisis was a period of tense communal relations and political instability in Belgium, which was rooted in the differing opinions on state reform, and in the continued existence of the controversial electoral dis ...
References
External links
Elections 07VRT election site
Tractothèque - Electoral posters and leaflets
{{Belgian elections
Federal
Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to:
Politics
General
*Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies
*Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
Federal elections in Belgium
June 2007 events in Europe