Les Engagés (; , LE) is a centrist

French-speaking French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in No ...

political party in Belgium. The party originated in the split in 1972 of the unitary Christian Social Party (PSC-CVP) which had been the country's governing party for much of the post-war period. It continued to be called the Christian Social Party (french: Parti Social Chrétien, PSC) until 2002 when it was renamed 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) ...

(french: Centre Démocrate Humaniste, CDH). It took its current name on 17 March 2022, and currently does not participate in any government.

History

The PSC was officially founded in 1972. The foundation was the result of the split of the unitary Christian Social Party (PSC-CVP) into the Dutch-speaking Christian People's Party (CVP) and the French-speaking Christian Social Party (PSC), following the increased linguistic tensions after the crisis at the Catholic University of Leuven in 1968. The PSC performed particularly badly in the 1999 general election. This was linked to several scandals, such as the escape of Marc Dutroux and the discovery of

dioxine Polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs), or simply dioxins, are a group of long-lived polyhalogenated organic compounds that are primarily anthropogenic, and contribute toxic, persistent organic pollution in the environment. They are commonly ...

in chickens (the PSC was a coalition partner in the Dehaene government). The decline in votes was also explained by declining adherence to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. The party was confined to opposition on all levels of government. The party started a process of internal reform. In 2001 a new charter of principles, the "Charter of Democratic Humanism," was adopted and in 2002 the party adopted a new constitution and a new name, Humanist Democratic Centre. On 17 March 2022, the party changed to its current name and political colors. On 10 October 2022, Virginie Lefrancq, a Brussels MP, announced that she was leaving Les Engagés, feeling politically orphaned.

Ideology

The party considers itself to be a movement rather than a party, and calls for citizen-led initiatives and more engagement between the public and politicians. The party has dropped all its Christian references and now defines itself as a party working for the "common good". On its manifesto, the party supports

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

, the EU, secularism and LGBT rights. Les Engagés supports intensifying awareness and information campaigns on gender and homosexuality, as well as the reimbursement of gynecological and andrological care for trans people.

Presidents

*2022–present Maxime Prévot

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Engagés, Les Francophone political parties in Belgium Social liberal parties Liberalism in Belgium Liberal parties in Belgium Political parties established in 2022 2022 establishments in Belgium Member parties of the European People's Party Centrist parties in Belgium