During the last two years Belgian television has broadcast five parliamentary debates in full and live. They were either the first appearance of a new government or important government declarations. These broadcasts were encouraged by the president of the Lower House, who hoped to familiarize a large part of the electorate with the work of its members.Audience research has shown however that interest is low and is decreasing. On the other hand, cameras have definitely influenced members' conduct : they attuned (...) their appearances to the television audience, in tone, in wording and in argumentation. Sessions were also drastically prolonged.Conclusion : neither the broadcasting authority nor parliament have any interest in the live and full broadcasting of parliamentary debates. It is much to be preferred to limit them to a summary, put in an appropriate context in a special program. (shrink)

Until 1971 the Belgian Socialist Party was the only political, party that closely and systematically involved its members in the designation of socialist candidates for parliamentary elections. This was achieved through a system of pre-elections within the party.The trend away from «polling», already perceptible in 1971, has asserted itself in 1974. Hardly 56 % of the elected members of Parliament owe their seat to their place on the candidate-list at the «poll».More than 40 % of them were designated by a (...) party-congress. This change is noticeably true in Flanders.Nevertheless the choice between a «poll» and a congress as a decisionmaking technique is not relevant as to the renewal of parliamentary groups. This renewal is mainly due to the introduction of an age-limit and of a gain in seats. Research also showed a growing lack of interest of party members in the composition of candidate-lists : participation has again slightly declined. (shrink)

Until 1971 the Belgian Socialist Party was the only Belgian party that consulted its members on the composition of candidate-lists for the parliamentary elections. Internal pre-elections were organized for this purpose.Since 1971 however there is a clear trend to abandon this procedure and to make a party-congres the deciding factor.In 1971 and 1974 this trend became predominant in Flanders; it is now also clearly noticeable in Wallonia. Only one out of seventeen Dutch-speaking federations, and seven of the thirteen Frenchspeaking federations (...) organized pre-elections. As they were held in the large federations which send large numbers of members to parliament, there are still more French-speaking candidates in parliament through pre-elections than through a congres appointed list. (shrink)

1. Cabinet made small effort to start consultations between the communities.It left the initiative to the political parties and to Flemish employers.2. The president of the VEV played an active role bebind the curtains. He mediated between certain Flemish and W alloon political circles. He tried to get the Volksunie info the cabinet. He found himself sadly out in his reckoning on the Walloon side, because he overlooked the strong socialist opposition.3. The opposition Socialist Party overcame the deadlock by publishing (...) a plan for the definitive state-reforms. Flemish, Walloon and Brussels socialists agreed to this plan. It became the beginning of negotiations between the communities, which started on November 30.4. The negotiations are difficult, mostly because the Walloons have no unified view on state-reforms. (shrink)

This paper describes the common techniques used in the constitution of candidates-lists for parliamentary elections. A common feature of these techniques is the consultation of party members. But the way in which this is done differs among the parties. AGALEV, the ecologist party, offers every member the possibility to have his say about every candidate. The socialist party uses this system in two constituencies ; in the other constituencies a special congress decides. The christiandemocrats, the liberals and the Flemish nationalists (...) constitute their lists by indirect vote : the leadership performs a first selection and the members then either approve or disapprove of this choice.Our research indicates that there are no essential differences between these two techniques from the point of view of membership participation.In both the ecologist and the socialist party the majority of members does not participate in the candidates-elections. Therefore, as with the indirect vote, candidates-lists are constituted by an active, militant and elitist group of members. Whatever the technique used the infl,uence of the rank-and-file-member is small. (shrink)

The 1980 state reform is unsatisfactory for two main reasons. It remained unfinished on crucial points, e.g. the definitive settlement for the Brussels region and the transformation of the senate into a chamber for regions and communities. As the preparations for a revision of the constitution, necessary for such a change in the senate's assignment, have not even started, the independance of regions and communities has remained a dead letter.Secondly, the laws which should have executed the state reform concerning the (...) competence-division between central, regional and communal government, remain obscure on many instances. No homogeneous policy-packages have been transfered to the communities or to the regions ; moreover in the transfered policies certain parts were reserved for the central government and finally the limits between the several fields of competence are far from clear-cut.The result is policy-dispersion, endless competence-conflicts and immobility. The fundamental question remains whether the equivalence of central laws and regional and communal laws is a correct decision, or whether one should return to a hierarchy between the different policy-levels. (shrink)

This article describes the facts and events that led to the linguistic splitting of the former Belgian Socialist Party into two independent and autonomous political parties : the French speaking Parti Socialiste and the Dutch speaking Socialistische Partij.Reference is made to unpublished documents and interviews with persons concerned.

In a day by day analysis, the cabinet-formation leading to the fifth Tindemans cabinet in Belgium in traced, using information gathered from talks with the main participants, and also making use of their personal notes.This «diary» consists of three parts : the first part concerns the partner-choice : the coming into the cabinet of the so-called «regional parties» and the socialists, and the disappearance of the liberals ; the second part concerns the negotiations about thegovernment-program proper, which resulted in an (...) agreement about statereform ; the third part relates the distribution of ministerial portfolios. (shrink)

From November 16, 1945 tilt ]anuary 8, 1946, the Flemish wing of the UDB, a newly founded political party, published a newspaper in Dutch «De Nieuwe Wereld».An analysis of articles and columns indicates the options the UDB intended to follow : rather leftist but rejecting the traditional party system and religious adherence as a lawful issue for political discussion and action, solliciting people's union as an acquisition earned during World War II by opposing the German occupation.Presumably due to financial shortcoming, (...) the newspaper subsisted only two months. (shrink)

Belgian Constitution needs a face-lifting. The right of information, both active and passive, must be recognized, along with a prohibition ofcensorship; this right implies the right of free communication and freedom of the media. It also implies the abolition of the notion press-delict and of special administration of criminal law.Legislation too has to be actualized: expansion of the right of answer to all means of communication.Furthermore, introduction of the duty of speech for anyone who holds information that may concern the (...) community.Finally, the need for a law protecting the privacy of the citizen, including protection from aggressive use and misuse of data banks, spying pratices and suchlike. (shrink)

The splitting of the Belgian Socialist Party into two autonomous parties for Flanders and Wallonia in 1978 stressed the earlier observed trend to abandon the procedure of internal pre-elections for the purpose of composing the parliamentary candidate-lists.The technique of the so-called party-polls is welt respected in the French speaking socialist party, but almost completely abandoned in Flanders, where it has been replaced by arrondissemental congresses. Besides, members' participation in these polls, if organised, is rather low.

Due to the dissolution of Parliament, election diate had to be advanced. As parties did not dispose of a long time in order to constitute their candidates-lists, their leadership were compelled to abandon all kinds of consultation of their members. They therefore used the technique of indirect vote, by asking the active militant core to approve a test-list of candidates selected by the leadership.