List of political parties in Belgium
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This article contains a list of political parties in Belgium.
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 ...
is a
federal state A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-governi ...
with a multi-party political system, with numerous parties who factually have no chance of gaining power alone, and therefore must work with each other to form
coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
s. Almost all
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 languag ...
political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or pol ...
are divided into linguistic groups, either
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
-speaking parties (see also political parties in Flanders),
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 or
Germanophone German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...
parties. The Flemish parties operate in
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 in the
Brussels-Capital Region Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
. The Francophone parties operate in
Wallonia 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 Brussels-Capital Region. There are also parties operating in the comparatively small
German-speaking community The German-speaking Community (german: links=no, Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft, or DG; french: links=no, Communauté germanophone; nl, links=no, Duitstalige Gemeenschap), since 2017 also known as East Belgium (german: links=no, Ostbelgien), is ...
. From the creation of the Belgian state in 1830 and throughout most of the 19th century, two political parties dominated
Belgian politics The politics of Belgium take place in the framework of a federal, representative democratic, constitutional monarchy. The King of the Belgians is the head of state, and the prime minister of Belgium is the head of government, in a multi-part ...
: the Catholic Party (Church-oriented and
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
) and the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
(
anti-clerical Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...
and progressive). In the late 19th century the Labour Party arose to represent the emerging industrial working class. These three groups still dominate Belgian politics, but they have evolved substantially in character.


Party status and financing

In Belgium, the status of political parties is not defined or regulated by the constitution or by laws. A party does not even need to be a formal organisation or be registered; they can exist de facto. Anyone can simply stand for elections by presenting an electoral list, provided the candidates are eligible and the list is supported by incumbent members of that body or by a certain number of voters. Nevertheless, some aspects have been strictly regulated in the last decades. Private funding of political parties is very restricted; political parties are publicly funded based on the number of votes they received in the elections as well as for parliamentary groups (in total c. €70 million per year). Campaign expenses are regulated during a certain period preceding an election ('' sperperiode''). The law of 4 July 1989 on electoral expenses (for
Chamber Chamber or the chamber may refer to: In government and organizations * Chamber of commerce, an organization of business owners to promote commercial interests *Legislative chamber, in politics * Debate chamber, the space or room that houses delib ...
elections) and party financing uses the following definition of a political party: One
non-profit association A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
(vzw/asbl) must be designated in order to receive public funding and provide accounting to an audit committee. Usually the main political parties have multiple such vzws/asbls that exist to facilitate their party structure. For example, when
Vlaams Blok ''Vlaams Blok'' ( en, Flemish Block, or VB) was the name of a Belgian far-right and secessionist political party with an anti-immigration platform.Erk, 2005, pp. 493-502. Its ideologies embraced Flemish nationalism, calling for the independence ...
was taken to court for racism in 2004, the court in fact convicted three vzws, after which a successor party
Vlaams Belang , ideology = , predecessor = Vlaams Blok , position = , europarl = Identity and Democracy , european = Identity and Democracy Party , youth_wing = Vlaams Belang Jongeren , colours = , ...
was founded. Equivalent laws exist for the electoral expenses in the European Parliament elections, the regional elections and local elections.


Main ideologies or categories


Catholics/Christian Democrats

After
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the Catholic (now Christian Democratic) Party severed its formal ties with the Church. It became a mass party of the centre. 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 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 ...
(CVP) in Flanders. The two parties pursue the same basic policies but maintain separate organisations. 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
Sammy Mahdi Sammy Mahdi (born 21 September 1988) is a Belgian Christian-Democrat politician, a member of CD&V, who in March 2020 became a member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives. On 1 October 2020, Mahdi became Secretary of State for Asylum and Mi ...
. Maxime Prévot 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
Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams 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 ...
(CD&V). In 1971 the German wing of the PSC became independent to get the name Christlich Soziale Partei. In 2002, the PSC changed its name to
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 ...
(cdH), and in 2022 again to '' Les Engagés'' ('The Committed Ones') abandoning their christian democratic roots. After the big losses in the 1999 general elections, when both CVP and PSC were banished to the opposition benches, some party members decided to leave the mother parties in order to form a new
liberal-conservative Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...
party. In
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, ...
, the New Christian Democrats (NCD) was founded by
Johan Van Hecke Johan Jozef Marie Clara Van Hecke (born 2 December 1954 in Ghent) is a Belgian politician and Member of the European Parliament for Flanders with the Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten, part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and ...
and Karel Pinxten. In
Wallonia 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 ...
, the
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) was founded by
Gérard Deprez Gérard M.J. Deprez (born 13 August 1943 in Noville, Bastogne) is a Belgian politician. He was the president of the Walloon Christian Social Party (PSC) from 1981 to 1996. In 1998 he left the PSC and founded the Citizens' Movement for Change (MC ...
. Both parties soon joined the major liberal parties, respectively the VLD in Flanders and the MR in Wallonia.


Socialists/Social Democrats

The modern Belgian Socialist parties are the descendants of the
Belgian Labour Party The Belgian Labour Party ( nl, Belgische Werkliedenpartij, BWP; french: Parti ouvrier belge, POB) was the first major socialist party in Belgium. Founded in 1885, the party was officially disbanded in 1940 and superseded by the Belgian Socialist P ...
. They have lost much of their early
Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
trends. They are now primarily labour-based parties similar to the German
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...
and the French
Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...
. 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.
Conner Rousseau Conner Rousseau (born 13 November 1992) is a Belgian politician who is the chairman of the social-democratic Flemish Vooruit party (formerly known as the sp.a). Biography Rousseau was born in Sint-Niklaas and is the son of former sp.a politician ...
is the current head of the Flemish Socialist Party and
Paul Magnette Paul Magnette (born 28 June 1971) is a Belgian politician for the Socialist Party, the current mayor of Charleroi and former political science professor at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB). He was the 13th Minister-President of Wallonia ...
is the current president of the Francophone Socialists. In general, the Walloon Socialists tend to concentrate on domestic issues. In the 1980s, 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 Willem Werner Hubert "Willy" Claes (; born 24 November 1938) is a Belgian politician who served as the eighth Secretary General of NATO, from 1994 to 1995. Claes was forced to resign from his NATO position after he was found guilty of corruptio ...
, then
Frank Vandenbroucke Frank Vandenbroucke is the name of: *Frank Vandenbroucke (politician) (born 1955), Belgian politician *Frank Vandenbroucke (cyclist) Frank Vandenbroucke (6 November 1974 – 12 October 2009) was a Belgian professional road racing cyclist. After ...
and with Erik Derycke as
Foreign Minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
, all three Flemish Socialists, the party made a significant shift to the centre adopting less controversial stances on foreign policy issues. The Francophone Parti Socialiste (PS) is mainly based in the industrial cities of Wallonia (
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 ...
,
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.
, and
Mons Mons (; German and nl, Bergen, ; Walloon and pcd, Mont) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Mons was made into a fortified city by Count Baldwin IV of Hainaut in the 12th century. T ...
). The Flemish Socialists' support is less regionally concentrated. PS is known in East Belgium as Sozialistische Partei (SP). The Flemish Socialists changed their party's name to Socialistische Partij Anders (SP.a) in 2002 and to
Vooruit Vooruit ( nl, Kunstencentrum Vooruit, ) is a historic complex in Ghent, Belgium. Vooruit was originally the festival and art center of the Ghent-based labor movement, with a ballroom, cinema, theater, etc. It is now mainly used for concerts a ...
in 2021. Recently, because of grassroots allegations about the party's "too little Socialist stand" in many political issues, a radical party wing broke away from the motherparty and formed, with support from smaller leftist parties, 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. ...
(CAP). Within the SP.a, the more Marxist ''SP.a-Rood'', is trying to change the course of the party.


Liberals

The Liberal Parties chiefly appeal to businesspeople, property owners, shopkeepers, and the self-employed, in general. In the terms generally used in English-speaking countries, Belgian liberals would be called "moderate conservatives", "fiscal conservatives" and "social liberals". There are two Liberal parties, formed along linguistic lines: The
Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten 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 ...
(Open VLD) who opened up their ranks to Volksunie and CD&V defectors some years ago, managed to break the dominance of CD&V over Belgian politics in 1999. Open VLD is currently headed by Egbert Lachaert. 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 ...
(MR) is the equivalent party on the Francophone side, and is headed by
Georges-Louis Bouchez Georges-Louis Bouchez (GLB), (born March 23, 1986) is a Belgians, Belgian politician and lawyer. Since 2019 he has served as a Senate (Belgium), Senator and leader of Mouvement Réformateur, Mouvement réformateur. Early life Bouchez was born i ...
. The MR is a federation mainly composed of the former PRL, it is also composed of the Germanophone
Partei für Freiheit und Fortschritt The Party for Freedom and Progress (german: Partei für Freiheit und Fortschritt, PFF) is a regional liberal political party in the German-speaking Community of Belgium. The party still retains the German version of the name of the all-Belgian li ...
(PFF),Official website
and is eventually also composed of the Christian-democratic split-off called MCC. It used to be composed of the Brussels-based FDF until September 2012, which is now an independent party. Recently, the Flemish liberal party faced several high-ranking elected officials breaking away in order to found new "right-liberal" parties: MEP
Ward Beysen Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...
( Liberaal Appèl, LA), senator Leo Govaerts (Veilig Blauw), senator
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 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 ...
), VLD board member Boudewijn Bouckaert (Cassadra vzw) and senator Jean-Marie Dedecker ( Lijst Dedecker, LDD).


Communists

The first
communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
party in Belgium was founded by the more radical elements of the
Belgian Labour Party The Belgian Labour Party ( nl, Belgische Werkliedenpartij, BWP; french: Parti ouvrier belge, POB) was the first major socialist party in Belgium. Founded in 1885, the party was officially disbanded in 1940 and superseded by the Belgian Socialist P ...
in 1921 and was named the
Communist Party of Belgium french: Parti Communiste de Belgique , abbreviation = KPB-PCB , colorcode = , leader1_title = Historical leaders , leader1_name = Joseph JacquemotteJulien LahautLouis Van Geyt , founder = Julien Lahaut , founded = , dissolved = , merge ...
(KPB-PCB). The party was a member of the
Comintern The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet Union, Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to ...
and entered parliament in 1925. It received its highest score in the post-war elections of 1946, when it won 12.7% of the popular vote and took part in the next coalition government. With the start of the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
the party started its decline and after the elections of 1985 it was no longer represented in the Belgian Parliament. The party eventually disbanded itself in 1989, but two minor parties, the Kommunistische Partij (KP) in Flanders and the Parti Communiste (PC) in Wallonia, see themselves as the successors. The most successful
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 ...
movement to emerge in Belgium was ''All Power To The Workers'' (AMADA-TPO) at the end of the 1960s during a time of students protests at the University of Leuven. In 1979 this movement evolved into 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 Marxism, Marxist and Socialism, socialist political parties in Belgium, political party in Belgium. It is one of the few ...
(PVDA-PTB), which is currently the largest communist party in Belgium and is represented in various municipal and provincial councils, as well as in the Chamber of Representatives, in the
Flemish Parliament The Flemish Parliament (Dutch: , formerly called Flemish Council or ''Vlaamse Raad'') constitutes the legislative power in Flanders for matters which fall within the competence of Flanders, both as a geographic region and as a cultural communi ...
, in the
Walloon Parliament The Parliament of Wallonia (french: Parlement de Wallonie) (Walloon Parliament (french: Parlement wallon) in the decrees) is the legislative body of Wallonia, one of the three self-governing regions of Belgium (the other two being Flanders and t ...
and in the
Brussels Parliament The Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) ( French: ''Parlement de la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale'', Dutch: ''Parlement van het Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gew ...
. Other minor communist and far-left parties include: the
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 ...
Revolutionary Communist League (LCR-SAP) and the Left Socialist Party (LSP-PSL).


Regionalist parties

A specific phenomenon in Belgium was the emergence of one-issue parties whose only reason for existence was the defence of the cultural, political, and economic interests of one of the linguistic groups or regions of Belgian society. See
Flemish movement The Flemish Movement ( nl, Vlaamse Beweging) is an umbrella term which encompasses various political groups in the Belgian region of Flanders and, less commonly, in French Flanders. Ideologically, it encompasses groups which have sought to promo ...
. The most militant Flemish regional party in Parliament in the 1950s and 1960s, the
Volksunie People's Union ( nl, Volksunie, VU) was a Flemish nationalist political party in Belgium, formed in 1954 as a successor to the Christian Flemish People's Union. The Volksunie defined itself as a big tent and catch-all party that combined suppor ...
(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 the nineties, the party has suffered severe setbacks. In October 2001 the party disintegrated. The left-liberal wing founded ''Spirit'', later called the Social Liberal Party, while the more traditional Flemish nationalist wing continued under the banner Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie (N-VA). After a disappointing result in the regional elections of 2009, the Social Liberal Party decided to merge with the Flemish ecologists of ''Groen!''. The N-VA, on the other hand, formed an electoral alliance with Christian-democratic CD&V from 2004 to 2008. After this period, the party's popularity grew significantly and it became the largest Flemish party. N-VA won the 2010 federal elections with 28% of the Flemish votes (17.4% of overall vote) and the 2014 Flemish parliament election with 31.9% of votes. The N-VA is led by
Bart De Wever Bart Albert Liliane De Wever ( born 21 December 1970) is a Belgian politician. Since 2004 De Wever has been the leader of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), a political party advocating for the independence of Flanders. He is also a member of the ...
who has been mayor of Antwerp since 2013. N-VA member
Geert Bourgeois Geert Albert Bourgeois (; born 6 July 1951) is a Belgian politician of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), which he founded in 2001, who is currently serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2019. He previously served as the Minister-Pr ...
has been minister-president of the Flemish government from 2014 to 2019. N-VA policies are primarily focused on economic reform through extended
devolution Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories h ...
of political power within the Belgian
confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
model of governance, and do eventually propose full secession from the Belgian confederation. Democratic, Federalist, Independent (DéFI) is a Brussels French-speaking Belgian political party that aims to defend and expand linguistic rights of French-speaking people in and around Brussels. It has been affiliated with the ''Mouvement Réformateur'', a liberal alliance party, under the name FDF. The
Union des Francophones The Union of Francophones (french: Union des Francophones, UF; nl, Unie van Franstaligen) is a political party in Belgium that participates as electoral lists in regional, provincial, and municipal elections in the Flemish Province of Flemish ...
(UF) is an electoral list combining the major Belgian Francophone parties for the regional elections in Flanders. The German-speaking Pro deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft (ProDG) is the successor of the hard-line Partei der Deutschsprachigen Belgier (PDB). PDB itself split from the Christian-democratic CSP and was a member of
European Free Alliance The European Free Alliance (EFA) is a European political party that consists of various regionalist, separatist and ethnic minority political parties in Europe. Member parties advocate either for full political independence and sovereignty, ...
and
Federal Union of European Nationalities The Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN) is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) established in 1949 in conjunction with the formation of the Council of Europe. As of 2019, there were 103 member organizations representing ...
(ProDG is still member of the latter).


Greens

The Flemish (Agalev) and Francophone (
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 ...
) 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. Agalev subsequently changed its name to Groen! in 2003. In 2012 the party dropped its trademark exclamation point and went on as
Groen Groen or de Groen is a surname of Dutch origin, meaning ''green''.
.


Nationalists

The foremost Flemish party in Belgium is the
Vlaams Belang , ideology = , predecessor = Vlaams Blok , position = , europarl = Identity and Democracy , european = Identity and Democracy Party , youth_wing = Vlaams Belang Jongeren , colours = , ...
, which was founded in 2004, after its predecessor was condemned by a High Court for "permanent incitation to discrimination and racism." On the far right, the Flanders separatist party
Vlaams Blok ''Vlaams Blok'' ( en, Flemish Block, or VB) was the name of a Belgian far-right and secessionist political party with an anti-immigration platform.Erk, 2005, pp. 493-502. Its ideologies embraced Flemish nationalism, calling for the independence ...
steadily rose in the 1980s and 1990s. The other parties except the fortuynist 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 ...
maintain a
cordon sanitaire ''Cordon sanitaire'' () is French for "sanitary cordon". It may refer to: *Cordon sanitaire (medicine), a cordon that quarantines an area during an infectious disease outbreak *Cordon sanitaire (politics), refusal to cooperate with certain politic ...
on the Vlaams Belang as they did the Vlaams Blok. Although other parties in Belgium are supportive of Flemish and Dutch cultural issues, the Vlaams Belang is most strident in pursuing a secessionist agenda, for Flemish independence. In Wallonia, 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: ...
(FN) was the largest anti-immigrant Wallonian party. Officially, it was a bilingual party, but in reality, it was a purely French-speaking group, although it did support Belgian federalism.


Alliances

After the installation of a 5%
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 ...
, with private funding close to forbidden and public funding 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 the CD&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. The VLD/Vivant alliance did not perform well in the polls. The proposed SP.a/Spirit/Groen! alliance did not happen, instead the SP.a/Spirit alliance went to the polls, although the tripartite cartel became reality in some constituencies on the local level in the October 2006 municipal elections.


Political parties


Flemish parties


Francophone parties


Bilingual parties


German-speaking parties


Minor parties


Flemish

* ''
Libertair, Direct, Democratisch 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 ...
/LDD'' (Libertarian, Direct, Democratic) * '' Rood!'' (Red!, socialist 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 ...
'' * ''
ROSSEM Radical Reformists and Social Fighters for a Fairer Society ( nl, Radicale Omvormers en Sociale Strijders voor een Eerlijker Maatschappij, ROSSEM) is a Belgium, Belgian Libertarianism, libertarian political party founded in 1991 by the Flemish bu ...
'' * '' Anderz''


Francophone

* '' Force Nationale - Walloon far right party * Front Nouveau de Belgique - Walloon far right party * ''
Rassemblement Wallonie-France The ''Rassemblement Wallonie France'' (Rally Wallonia France, RWF) is a small political party in Belgium. It is active in Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region. In Brussels it is known as the Rassemblement Bruxelles France or RBF. Its aim is t ...
'' * '' Rassemblement Wallon'' * '' Liberal Democrats (LiDem) (former Listes Destexhe)


Bilingual/Unionist

* '' Piratenpartij - Parti pirate'' * ''
DierAnimal DierAnimal (from the Flemish and French words for "animal") is an animal welfare political party in Belgium. The party seeks to create a society where all living things are respected equally regardless of skin color, gender, age or species. It su ...
(Party for the animals) '' * ''Be.One (immigrant rights) '' * '' Communistische Partij van België/PCB'' (Communist Party of Belgium) *
Agora The agora (; grc, ἀγορά, romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Greek city-states. It is the best representation of a city-state's response to accommodate the social and political order of t ...
* '' Belgische Unie - Union Belge/BUB'' (Belgian Union) * '' Pro Bruxsel'' * '' European Federalist Party'' * '' Comité voor een Andere Politiek - Comité pour une Autre Politique/CAP'' (Committee for Another Policy) * '' Internationale Arbeidersliga - Ligue Internationale des Travailleurs'' (International Workers' League) * '' Ligue communiste révolutionnaire - Socialistische Arbeiderspartij/LCR-SAP'' (Revolutionary Communist League) * '' Linkse Socialistische Partij - Parti Socialiste de Lutte/LSP-PSL'' (Left Socialist Party) * '' Volt Belgique - België - Belgien (Belgian section of
Volt Europa Volt Europa (frequently abbreviated as Volt) is a pro-European and European federalist political movement that also serves as the pan-European structure for subsidiary parties in several EU member states. Volt candidates stood on a common, pan- ...
)''


Historical parties

* Catholic Party (1869–1945) *
Frontpartij The ''Frontpartij'' (Dutch; "Front Party") was a Belgian political party that campaigned for increasing recognition for the Flemish people and their language. Originating from the earlier ''Frontbeweging'' ("Front Movement"), the ''Frontpartij'' w ...
(1919–1933) *
Communist Party of Belgium french: Parti Communiste de Belgique , abbreviation = KPB-PCB , colorcode = , leader1_title = Historical leaders , leader1_name = Joseph JacquemotteJulien LahautLouis Van Geyt , founder = Julien Lahaut , founded = , dissolved = , merge ...
(1921–1989) * Christian Social Party (1945–1968) *
Rexist Party The Rexist Party (french: Parti Rexiste), or simply Rex, was a far-right Catholic, nationalist, authoritarian and corporatist political party active in Belgium from 1935 until 1945. The party was founded by a journalist, Léon Degrelle,
- Walloon far right party (1935–1945) *
Vlaamsch Nationaal Verbond The (Dutch for "Flemish National Union" or "Flemish National League"), widely known by its acronym VNV, was a Flemish nationalist political party active in Belgium between 1933 and 1945.
- Flemish far right party (1933–1944) * Catholic Flemish People's Party (1936–1945) * Agir - Walloon far right party (1989–1997) *
Party of New Forces Parti des forces nouvelles (PFN) or Party of New Forces was a French far-right political party formed in November 1974 from the ''Comité faire front'', a group of anti-Jean-Marie Le Pen dissidents who had split from the National Front (FN). De ...
- Walloon far right party (1975–1991)


See also

* Political parties in Flanders *
List of political parties by country This is a list of ruling political parties by country, in the form of a table with a link to an overview of political parties in each country and showing which party system is dominant in each country. A political party is a political organizat ...
*
Liberalism in Belgium This article gives an overview of liberalism in Belgium. Liberalism was a dominant force since the Belgian independence from the Netherlands. It is limited to liberal parties with substantial support, mainly proved by having had a representation ...
*
Pillarisation Pillarisation (from the nl, verzuiling) is the politico-denominational segregation of a society into groups by religion and associated political beliefs. These societies were (and in some areas, still are) vertically divided into two or more gr ...
*
Politics of Belgium The politics of Belgium take place in the framework of a federal, representative democratic, constitutional monarchy. The King of the Belgians is the head of state, and the prime minister of Belgium is the head of government, in a multi-party ...
*
Politics of Flanders Flanders is both a Flemish Community, cultural community and an Flemish Region, economic region within the Belgium, Belgian state, and has significant autonomy. Historically, the contemporary Flemish people, Flemish community (or nation, as som ...
*
Politics of Wallonia The politics of Wallonia concern the government of Wallonia, that is the southern Region of Belgium. The capital is Namur, where are the seats of the Government of Wallonia, the Parliament of Wallonia and the Public Service of Wallonia. Structu ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Political Parties In Belgium
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 ...
Political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or pol ...
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 ...