Belgium flag Belgium: Economic and Political Overview

The political framework of Belgium

Political Outline

Current Political Leaders
King: Philippe of Belgium (since 21 August 2013);
Prime Minister: Alexander De Croo (since 1 October 2020)
Next Election Dates
Municipal and provincial elections in 2026
Current Political Context
Belgium is a stable country even if cultural tensions between Wallonia (French-speaking) and Flanders (Flemish) have impregnated political life. The political system is a complicated one as there are different majorities at both regional and national levels. The decision-making process is highly controversial in Belgium as leaders of “Communities” can pass decrees and ordinances bearing the same juridical value as federal laws.

The government led by Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, in office since October 2020, is supported by a seven-party coalition agreement (also known as the “Vivaldi” coalition): the liberals (Open Vld and MR), the socialists (Vooruit and PS), the greens (Groen and Ecolo) and the Christian democrats of CD&V. Federal elections are scheduled to be held on 9 June 2024, with good probability for the repetition of the Vivaldi coalition.
Main Political Parties
Historically, parties are divided between French and Flemish groups, fuelling intercommunal tensions.

- Workers' Party of Belgium (PTB-PVDA): far-left (ideologies: communism, marxism, marxism-leninism, socialism)
- Socialist Party (PS): centre-left, largest francophone party
- Flemish Socialists and Spirit alliance (SP.A): socialist, Flemish party
- Ecolo: green, francophone party
- Groen: green, Flemish party
- Christian, Democratic and Flemish Party (CD&V): centre-right
- Humanist Democratic Centre (Les Engagés) (cdH): centre, francophone party
- Flemish Liberal Democrats (Open VLD): centre-right, Flemish party
- Reform Movement (MR): centre-right, francophone party
- New-Flemish Alliance (N-VA): right-wing, pushes for Flemish independence from Belgium
- Flemish Interest (Vlaams Belang): right-wing populist, pushing for Flemish independence
Executive Power
Chief of the state is the King, who plays a largely ceremonial and symbolic role. The King's primary political function is to designate a political leader (Prime Minister) to form a new government. Following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party (or the leader of the majority coalition) is usually appointed Prime Minister by the King and then approved by the parliament for a four-year term. The King, on recommendation of the Prime Minister, formally appoints the Council of Ministers. At the federal level, executive power is wielded by the Council of Ministers, with each minister heading a governmental department, with a maximum of 15 ministers. The Prime Minister chairs the Council.
Legislative Power
The Belgian Parliament is bicameral and consists of the Senate and the Chamber of Representatives. The Chamber has 150 directly elected members by proportional representation vote. The Senate has 60 members; 50 members indirectly elected by the community and regional parliaments based on their election results, and 10 elected by the 50 other senators. All the members of the Parliament serve 5-year terms.
 

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

Definition:

The world rankings, published annually, measures violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position are assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire incorporating the main criteria (44 in total) to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. This questionnaire was sent to partner organisations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).

World Rank:
11/180
 

Indicator of Political Freedom

Definition:

The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.

Ranking:
Free
Political Freedom:
1/7

Political freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Freedom in the World Report, Freedom House

 

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Latest Update: November 2024