Parti Socialiste (Belgium)

Socialist Party
French: Parti Socialiste
German: Sozialistische Partei
President Paul Magnette
Founded 1978
Preceded by Belgian Socialist Party
Headquarters National Secretariat
Bd de l'Empereur/Keizerslaan 13, Brussels
Think tank Institut Emile Vandervelde[1]
Youth wing Movement of Young Socialists
Ideology Social democracy[2]
Political position Centre-left[3]
European affiliation Party of European Socialists
International affiliation Progressive Alliance,
Socialist International
European Parliament group Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
Flemish counterpart Socialist Party Differently
Colours      Red
Chamber of Representatives
(French-speaking seats)
23 / 63
Senate
(French-speaking seats)
9 / 24
Walloon Parliament
30 / 75
Parliament of the French Community
33 / 94
Brussels Parliament
(French-speaking seats)
21 / 72
European Parliament
(French-speaking seats)
3 / 8
Website
www.ps.be

The Socialist Party (French: Parti Socialiste, PS) is a social-democratic[4][5][6][7] French-speaking political party in Belgium. As of the 2010 elections, it is the second largest party in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and the largest Francophone party. The party is led by Paul Magnette, the successor of Elio Di Rupo, who became Prime Minister of Belgium as of 6 December 2011. The party also supplies the Minister-Presidents of the Walloon region and French Community (Rudy Demotte), the Brussels-Capital Region (Charles Picqué) and the German-speaking Community (Karl-Heinz Lambertz) of Belgium. In the German-speaking community, the party is known as the Sozialistische Partei (SP).

The PS is very commonly part of governing coalitions, and dominates most local authorities because of the extremely fragmented nature of Belgian political institutions, particularly in Francophone areas. In the years since 1999, the PS has simultaneously controlled five regional executive bodies: the Government of the French Community, the Walloon Government, the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region, as well as the COCOF, a local subsidiary in Brussels of the French Community Government, and the Government of the German-speaking Community.

The party, or its members, have from time to time been brought into connection with criminal activities and political scandals, mostly concerning bribery and financial fraud (Cools assassination, Agusta scandal, Dassault Affair, Carolorégienne affair, ICDI affair). The Carolorégienne affair caused Jean-Claude Van Cauwenberghe to step down as Minister-President of the Walloon region.

Electoral results

The PS performed well in the 2003 general election, but were overtaken as the largest Francophone party by the Reformist Movement in the 2007 general election

In the 10 June 2007 general elections, the party won 20 out of 150 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 4 out of 40 seats in the Senate. PS was a member of the Leterme I Government, Van Rompuy I Government, Leterme II Government and currently the Di Rupo I Government of 6 December 2011, with former PS leader Elio Di Rupo serving as Prime Minister of Belgium.

Timeline

Results for the Chamber of Representatives, in percentages for the Kingdom of Belgium.

Ideology

The ideology and image of the PS is a mix of social-democracy, combined with a modern electoral marketing (since Elio Di Rupo became the party's strongman).

Notable figures

The Brussels headquarters of the PS (2006)

Chairmen

Other

Election results

Federal Parliament

Chamber of Representatives

Election year # of overall votes % of overall vote % of language
group vote		 # of overall seats won # of language
group seats won		 +/- Notes
1995 720,819 11.9
21 / 150
1999 631,653 10.2
19 / 150
 Decrease 2
2003 855,992 13.0
25 / 150
25 / 62
 Increase 6
2007 724,787 10.9
20 / 150
20 / 62
 Decrease 5
2010 894,543 13.7 (#1)
26 / 150
26 / 62
 Increase 6 In a government coalition with SP.A, MR/Open VLD, CD&V/CDH
2014 787,165 11.67
23 / 150
23 / 63
 Decrease 3 in opposition

Senate

Election year # of overall votes % of overall vote % of language
group vote		 # of overall seats won # of language
group seats won		 +/- Notes
1995 764,610 12.8 34.1
5 / 40
5 / 15
1999 597,890 9.7
4 / 40
4 / 15
 Decrease 1
2003 840,908 12.8
6 / 40
6 / 15
 Increase 2
2007 678,812 10.2
4 / 40
4 / 15
 Decrease 2
2010 880,828 13.6
7 / 40
7 / 15
 Increase 3

Regional parliaments

Brussels Parliament

Election year # of
overall votes		 % of
overall vote		 % of language
group vote		 # of
overall seats won		 # of language
group seats won		 +/– Government
1989 96,189 22.0 (#1)
18 / 75
 in coalition
1995 88,370 21.4 (#2)
17 / 75
 Decrease 1 in coalition
1999 68,307 16.0 (#3)
13 / 75
 Decrease 4 in coalition
2004 130,462 33.4 (#1)
26 / 89
26 / 72
 Increase 13 in coalition
2009 107,303 26.2 (#2)
21 / 89
21 / 72
 Decrease 5 in coalition
2014 in coalition

German-speaking Community Parliament

Election year # of
overall votes		 % of
overall vote		 # of
overall seats won		 +/– Government
1990 6,407 16.3 (#3)
4 / 25
 Steady 0 in opposition
1995 5,958 16.1 (#3)
4 / 25
 Steady 0 in opposition
1999 5,519 15.0 (#3)
4 / 25
 Steady 0 in coalition
2004 6,903 19.0 (#3)
5 / 25
 Increase 1 in coalition
2009 7,231 19.3 (#2)
5 / 25
 Steady 0 in coalition
2014 in coalition

Walloon Parliament

Election year # of
overall votes		 % of
overall vote		 # of
overall seats won		 +/– Government
1995 665,986 35.2 (#1)
30 / 75
 in coalition
1999 560,867 29.4 (#1)
25 / 75
 Decrease 5 in coalition
2004 727,781 36.9 (#1)
34 / 75
 Increase 9 in coalition
2009 657,803 32.8 (#1)
29 / 75
 Decrease 5 in coalition
2014 in coalition

European Parliament

French-speaking electoral college

Election year # of
overall votes		 % of
overall vote		 % of electoral
college vote		 # of
overall seats won		 # of electoral
college seats won		 +/–
1979 575,824 10.6 27.4 (#1)
4 / 24
4 / 11
1984 762,293 34.0 (#1)
5 / 24
5 / 11
 Increase 1
1989 854,207 38.1 (#1)
5 / 24
5 / 11
 Steady 0
1994 680,142 30.4 (#1)
3 / 25
3 / 10
 Decrease 2
1999 596,567 25.8 (#2)
3 / 25
3 / 10
 Steady 0
2004 878,577 36.1 (#1)
4 / 24
4 / 9
 Increase 1
2009 714,947 29.1 (#1)
3 / 22
3 / 8
 Decrease 1
2014 714,784 29,28 (#1)
3 / 21
3 / 8
 Steady 0

German-speaking electoral college

Election year # of
overall votes		 % of
overall vote		 % of electoral
college vote		 # of
overall seats won		 # of electoral
college seats won		 +/–
2004 5,527 14.9 (#3)
0 / 24
0 / 1
2009 5,658 14.6 (#4)
0 / 22
0 / 1
 Steady 0
2014 5,841 15.11 (#4)
0 / 21
0 / 1
 Steady 0

See also

References

  1. ↑ "L'IEV - PS - Parti Socialiste". PS.be. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  2. ↑ Parties and Elections in Europe: The database about parliamentary elections and political parties in Europe, by Wolfram Nordsieck
  3. ↑ Josep M. Colomer (24 July 2008). Comparative European Politics. Taylor & Francis. pp. 220–. ISBN 9780203946091. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  4. ↑ Hans Slomp (30 September 2011). Europe, A Political Profile: An American Companion to European Politics: An American Companion to European Politics. ABC-CLIO. pp. 465–. ISBN 978-0-313-39182-8. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  5. ↑ Dimitri Almeida (27 April 2012). The Impact of European Integration on Political Parties: Beyond the Permissive Consensus. CRC Press. pp. 71–. ISBN 978-1-136-34039-0. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  6. ↑ Richard Collin; Pamela L. Martin (2012). An Introduction to World Politics: Conflict and Consensus on a Small Planet. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 218–. ISBN 978-1-4422-1803-1. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  7. ↑ Ari-Veikko Anttiroiko; Matti Mälkiä (2007). Encyclopedia of Digital Government. Idea Group Inc (IGI). pp. 397–. ISBN 978-1-59140-790-4. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
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