Socialist Party (francophone Belgium)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Parti Socialiste | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Leader | Elio Di Rupo |
| Political Ideology | Social democracy |
| Founded | 1978 |
| Earlier name(s) | PS/SP, PSB/BSP, POB/BWP |
| International Affiliation | Socialist International |
| European Affiliation | Party of European Socialists |
| European Parliament Group | Party of European Socialists |
| Cartel | none |
| Flemish counterpart | Socialist Party – Different (SP.A) |
| Website | www.ps.be |
| Headquarters | national secretariat Bd de l'Empereur/Keizerslaan, Brussels |
| Colours | Red |
| See also | Politics of Belgium Politics of Flanders Politics of Wallonia |
The Socialist Party (French: Parti Socialiste, PS) is a Francophone social democratic political party in Belgium. As of the 2007 elections, it is the second largest Francophone party (after the MR) in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives. The party is led by Elio Di Rupo and supplies the Ministers-President of the Walloon region (Rudy Demotte), of the Brussels-Capital Region (Charles Picqué) and the French Community (Marie Arena) and of the German-speaking Community (Karl-Heinz Lambertz) Communities of Belgium.
The PS is nearly always part of the governing coalition, and dominates most local authorities because of the extremely fragmented nature of political institutions, especially from the French-speaking side. In the years since 1999, the PS has simultaneously controlled five regional executive bodies: the Francophone Community Government, the Walloon Regional Government, the Brussels Regional Government, as well as the COCOF, a local subsidiary in Brussels of the Francophone Community Government and even the German-speaking Community Government. The PS did very well in the 2003 general election, but had to see how the Mouvement Réformateur took hold of the 2007 election.
The ideology and image of the PS is a mix of old-style state interventionism, combined with a modern electoral marketing (since Elio Di Rupo became the party's strongman). In 2004, the PS senator Philippe Moureaux presented the law granting the right of vote to foreigners.
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.
At the start of 2006, 14 of the 26 representatives of the Parti Socialiste, the largest party in the Brussels regional parliament, are Muslim immigrants (ten of Moroccan origin, two Turkish, one Tunisian and one from the West-African state of Guinea)
[edit] 2007 elections
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 is currently a member of the Leterme I Government formed on 20 March 2008.
[edit] Notable figures
(Past and present)
- André Cools
- Rudy Demotte
- Elio Di Rupo
- André Flahaut
- Jean-Claude Marcourt
- Philippe Moureaux
- Laurette Onkelinx
- Guy Spitaels
- Jean-Claude Van Cauwenberghe
[edit] External links
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