At the Belgian parliamentary elections in June 1999, the Flemish nationalist party 'Volksunie' which formed an alliance with the social-liberal ID21 progressed slightly. On July 10, 1999, the party decided to participate in the purple-green-yellow Flemish government, but at the same time they decided to stay out of the federal Belgian government. Two years later, the VU-Party Bureau decided that due to deep divisions within the party it had become impossible for the party to continue. The 15.000 party members were (...) asked to judge about the future of the party. Because no party project managed to obtain a 50 %-majority in the party member referendum, the VU dissappeared. Two new parties - the 'Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie' and 'Spirit' - emerged from the ruins of the VU. The collapse of the VU can be seen as the most far-reaching change in the Flemish party political context of the last decade. This article focusses on the last two and a half years of the VU and on the first year of the N-VA and Spirit. In a first part, achronological overview is build up. This part provides an overview «from day to day» of the events that played a role in the collapse of the VU and the creation of the N-VA and Spirit. The second part of the article draws amore morphological picture of the VU, the N-VA and Spirit: data are presented about the internal organisation of these parties. By offering an extensive overview of facts and figures, it is the intention of the authors to provide a solid guidelinefor further investigation. (shrink)

At 13 June 1999, elections for the regional Parliaments, the federal Parliament and the European Parliament were held in Belgium.The percentage of voters casting a preferential vote at these elections increased again, reaching the highest score ever in Belgian history. On average, 60,9 % of the electorate expressed their preference for one or more candidates. Although voters have the possibility to cast a multiple preferential vote, this possibility is not used very much. A voter who cast a preferential vote, only (...) vote on average for 1,73 candidates.The further increase in preferential votes was a little surprise since strong limitations were imposed upon campaign expenditures and on commercial affichage. Political and social evolutions, such as individualism, anti-party feelings and mediatisation seem to have had a stronger impact upon preferential voting than these material limitations.The use of the preferential vote varies from one constituency to another, from Flemings to Walloons, and from one party to another. There were some notable evolutions. The voters of the extreme-right Vlaams Blok and of the green parties Agalev and Ecolo, who traditionally cast less preferential votes than voters of other parties, have dimished the gap between them and the other parties. Another important evolution is the decrease of pref erential voting in some constituencies in Wallonia. As for the Senate and the European Parliament, more Flemings now cast a preferential vote than Walloons do. The large constituencies used for these elections seem to attract very well-known politicians and as a consequence also very much preferential votes in Flanders.Despite the increase in preferential voting, the order of the list, composed by the party remained in most cases decisive whether or nota candidate was elected. (shrink)

The Flemish-nationalist party Volksunie ceased to exist in 2001. Due to deep divisions within the party, it was decided to organise a referendum in which each party-member could vote for a project, outlining the future of the party. Since none of the three projects managed to obtain a 50 %-majority, a requisite to preserve the party name, the name Volksunie disappeared and the party was split up in two new parties. In this article we tried to answer the question which (...) members voted for which project. A mail survey was held among a sample of Volksunie-members. Explanations for voting behaviour were found in characteristics of voters, their viewpoints on issues and their appreciation of notable party leaders. Finally, we analysed the second preference-party of the Volksunie-members in order to estimate with which existing parties the two new parties could possibly form future alliances. (shrink)

On 13 June 2003, elections for both the regional parliaments and the European Parliament were held in Belgium.The percentage of voters casting a preferential vote increased when compared with the previous regional and European elections of 1999, reaching scores clearly higher than 60%. The new electoral laws are one explanation for this increase, together with societal evolutions, such as individualism, anti-party feelings, personalization of polities and the appearance of cartels. In comparison with the federal elections of 2003 however, there was (...) a decrease in prererential voting, due to lower campaign expenditures and to the success of parties that traditionally do not attract many preferential votes. Voters can also cast a vote for several candidates figuring on the same party list, which is contrary to the past done quite frequently now. Finally, more candidates than ever succeeded in becoming elected out oî the order of the party list. (shrink)

At 18 May 2003, elections for both the Belgian House of Representatives and Senate were held within a new institutional framework: among others the constituencies were enlarged.The percentage of voters casting a preferential vote increased again, reaching the highest score ever with 66,5 %for the House and 68,0 %for the Senate. Voters can also cast a vote for several candidates figuring on the same party list, which was not done very frequently in the past. The number of preference votes on (...) one ballot increased enormously, with naw on average 2,23 for the House and 2,37 for the Senate. More candidates than ever succeeded in becoming elected out of the order of the party list, which was mostly decisive in the past.Thenew electoral laws are one reason for these changes, togethers with some political and social evolutions, such as individualism, anti-party feelings and mediatisation. (shrink)

In response to a decline of 'the party on the ground', political parties in Western Europe have increased the opportunities for their members to have a say on the party's policy. In this article, four ways of increased involvement of the rank-and-file in Belgian political parties are analysed : party leadership elections, co-decision as concerns the composition of electoral lists, intra-party referenda and the widening ofthe suffrage on party congresses. As concerns the statutory regulations, the involvement of party members has (...) increasedsignificantly. In practice, however, influence of party members remains limited and the party elite continues to keep most power in their hands. Most party members are aware of the limits of their influence. Moreover, not all members are interested in having a greater say in party affairs. Those that adhere to a party because of ideological or programmatic reasons, participate most. (shrink)

The way in which preferential votes of a candidate are spread over a large constituency is analysed for the Belgian Senate elections of 1995 and the European elections of 1994 in Belgium, which are both held in large constituencies. A formula that indicates the concentration of preferential votes controls in each sub-unit of the constituency for the number of votes, the number of votes of the candidate's party and the number of preferential votes. When this variabele is combined with a (...) variabele indicating the total number of preferential votes of a candidate, an interesting classification of nine categories of candidates is archieved.The fact that some candidates have a weak concentration of preferential votes in a sub-unit can be explained either by the social distance between candidate and citizen or by the f act that some candidates, due to their media appearences, are welt known all over the constituency and hence that they obtain an equal share of preferential votes in each sub-unit. The place on the party list and the visibility of a candidate in the campaign have an influence upon the category under which a candidate ressorts. (shrink)