Centre démocrate humaniste
| Humanist Democratic Centre Centre démocrate humaniste |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Leader | Benoît Lutgen |
| Founded | 1972 (PSC) 2002 (cdH) |
| Preceded by | PSC and CVP-PSC |
| Headquarters | National secretariat Rue des Deux Églises, Brussels |
| Ideology | Christian democracy Centrism[1] |
| Political position | Centre[2] [3] |
| International affiliation | Centrist Democrat International |
| European affiliation | European People's Party |
| European Parliament group | European People's Party |
| Flemish counterpart | Christian Democratic and Flemish |
| Colours | Orange |
| Chamber of Representatives |
9 / 150
|
| Senate |
4 / 71
|
| Walloon Parliament |
13 / 75
|
| Parliament of the French Community |
16 / 94
|
| Brussels Parliament |
11 / 89
|
| European Parliament |
1 / 22
|
- Not to be confused with the Christian Social Party (Belgium) 1945-1968
The Humanist Democratic Centre (French: Centre démocrate humaniste, cdH) is a Francophone Christian democratic[4][5] political party in Belgium.[6][7] The cdH currently participates in the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region, the Government of the French Community the Walloon Government, and the Belgian federal government.
Contents |
History[edit]
The PSC was officially founded in 1972. The foundation was the result of the split of the unitary Christian Social Party–Christian People's Party (PSC-CVP) into the Dutch-speaking Christian People's Party (CVP) and the French-speaking Christian Social Party (PSC), following the increased linguistic tensions after the crisis at the University of Leuven in 1968. The PSC performed particularly badly in the 1999 general election. This was linked to several scandals, such as the escape of Marc Dutroux and the discovery of dioxine in chickens (the PSC was a coalition partner in the Dehaene government). The decline in votes was also explained by declining adherence to Catholicism. The party was confined to opposition on all levels of government.
The party started a process of internal reform. In 2001 a new charter of principles the "Charter of Democratic Humanism" was adopted and 2002 the party adopted a new constitution and a new name, Humanist Democratic Centre.
In the 2003 general election the party did not perform much better and was still confined to opposition. After the 2004 regional elections the party returned to power in Brussels, in Walloon Region and the French Community together with the Socialist Party and Ecolo in Brussels, and with the Socialist Party in Walloon Region and the French Community. The current president of the party is Joëlle Milquet.
In the 2007 general elections, the party won 10 out of 150 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 2 out of 40 seats in the Senate.
In the 2010 general elections, the party lost 1 seat in the Chamber and kept its 2 seats in the Senate.
Ideology[edit]
Its ideology is the "democratic humanism, inspired by personalism inherited notably from christian humanism", which includes a centre-left policy towards the economy, supporting state interventionism and calling for the unity of Belgium.
Electoral results[edit]
Federal Parliament[edit]
Results for the Chamber of Representatives, in percentages for the Kingdom of Belgium. 
| Chamber of Representatives (Chambre des Représentants) | |||||||
| Election year | # of overall votes |
% of overall vote |
% of language group vote |
# of overall seats won |
# of language group seats won |
+/– | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 469,101 | 7.7 | (#3) |
12 / 150
|
12 / 59
|
in coalition | |
| 1999 | 365,318 | 5.9 | (#4) |
10 / 150
|
10 / 59
|
 2 |
in opposition |
| 2003 | 359,660 | 5.5 | (#3) |
8 / 150
|
8 / 62
|
2 |
in opposition |
| 2007 | 404,077 | 6.0 | (#3) |
10 / 150
|
10 / 62
|
 2 |
in coalition |
| 2010 | 360,441 | 5.5 | (#3) |
9 / 150
|
9 / 62
|
1 |
in coalition |
| Senate (Sénat) | |||||||
| Election year | # of overall votes |
% of overall vote |
% of language group vote |
# of overall seats won |
# of language group seats won |
+/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 434,492 | 7.3 | (#3) |
3 / 40
|
3 / 15
|
||
| 1999 | 374,002 | 6.0 | (#4) |
3 / 40
|
3 / 15
|
 0 |
|
| 2003 | 362,705 | 5.5 | (#3) |
2 / 40
|
2 / 15
|
1 |
|
| 2007 | 390,852 | 5.9 | (#3) |
2 / 40
|
2 / 15
|
0 |
|
| 2010 | 331,870 | 5.1 | (#4) |
2 / 40
|
2 / 15
|
0 |
|
Regional parliaments[edit]
Brussels Parliament[edit]
| Election year | # of overall votes |
% of overall vote |
% of language group vote |
# of overall seats won |
# of language group seats won |
+/– | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 51,904 | 11.9 (#4) |
9 / 75
|
in coalition | |||
| 1995 | 38,244 | 9.3 (#3) |
7 / 75
|
2 |
in opposition | ||
| 1999 | 33,815 | 7.9 (#4) |
6 / 75
|
1 |
in opposition | ||
| 2004 | 55,078 | 14.1 (#3) |
10 / 89
|
10 / 72
|
4 |
in coalition | |
| 2009 | 60,527 | 14.8 (#4) |
11 / 89
|
11 / 72
|
1 |
in coalition | |
Walloon Parliament[edit]
| Election year | # of overall votes |
% of overall vote |
# of overall seats won |
+/– | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 407,741 | 21.6 (#3) |
16 / 75
|
in coalition | |
| 1999 | 325,229 | 17.1 (#4) |
14 / 75
|
2 |
in opposition |
| 2004 | 347,348 | 17.6 (#3) |
14 / 75
|
0 |
in coalition |
| 2009 | 323,952 | 16.1 (#4) |
13 / 75
|
1 |
in coalition |
European Parliament[edit]
| Election year | # of overall votes |
% of overall vote |
% of electoral college vote |
# of overall seats won |
# of electoral college seats won |
+/– |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 445,912 | 21.2 (#2) |
3 / 24
|
3 / 11
|
||
| 1984 | 436,108 | 19.5 (#3) |
2 / 24
|
2 / 11
|
1 |
|
| 1989 | 476,795 | 21.3 (#2) |
2 / 24
|
2 / 11
|
0 |
|
| 1994 | 420,198 | 18.8 (#3) |
2 / 25
|
2 / 10
|
0 |
|
| 1999 | 307,912 | 13.3 (#4) |
1 / 25
|
1 / 10
|
1 |
|
| 2004 | 368,753 | 15.2 (#3) |
1 / 24
|
1 / 9
|
0 |
|
| 2009 | 327,824 | 13.3 (#4) |
1 / 22
|
1 / 8
|
0 |
References[edit]
- ^ Hloušek, Vít; Kopeček, Lubomír (2010), Origin, Ideology and Transformation of Political Parties: East-Central and Western Europe Compared, Ashgate, p. 136
- ^ Keman, Hans (2008), "The Low Countries: Confrontation and Coalition in Segmented Societies", Comparative European Politics (Third ed.) (Routledge): 220
- ^ Annesley, Claire (2005), Political and Economic Dictionary of Western Europe, Routledge, p. 179
- ^ 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.
- ^ Thomas Poguntke; Paul Webb (21 June 2007). The Presidentialization of Politics: A Comparative Study of Modern Democracies. Oxford University Press. pp. 158–. ISBN 978-0-19-921849-3. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
- ^ Billiet, Jaak; Maddens, Bart; Frognier, André-Paul (2006). "Does Belgium (still) exist? Differences in political culture between Flemings and Walloons". West European Politics 29 (5): 912–932. doi:10.1080/01402380600968802.
- ^ Lees-Marshment, Jennifer (2009). Political Marketing: Principles and Applications. London: Taylor & Francis. p. 99. ISBN 978-0-415-43129-3.
External links[edit]
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