Socialist Party (Belgium)

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Socialist Party
Leader	Elio Di Rupo
Founded	1978
Preceded by	POB-BWP, PSB-BSP, PS-SP
Headquarters	national secretariat Bd de l'Empereur/Keizerslaan 13, Brussels
Youth wing	Movement of Young Socialists
Ideology	Social democracy
Political position	Centre-left
European affiliation	Party of European Socialists
International affiliation	Socialist International
European Parliament group	Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
Flemish counterpart	SP.a
German counterpart	Sozialistische Partei
Colours	Red
Chamber of Representatives	26 / 150
Senate	13 / 71
Walloon Parliament	29 / 75
Parliament of the French Community	33 / 94
Brussels Parliament	21 / 89
European Parliament	3 / 22
Website
www.ps.be
Politics of Belgium Political parties Elections

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The Socialist Party (French: Parti Socialiste, PS) is a Francophone social-democratic 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 Elio Di Rupo, 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 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).^{[citation needed]}

Notable figures

Chairmen

André Cools, 1978-1981 (previously leader of the Walloon branch of the BSP/PSB)
Guy Spitaels, 1981–1992
Philippe Busquin, 1992–1999
Elio Di Rupo, 1999–present

Other

External links

Political parties in Belgium

Flemish parties

Major	New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) (25) Flemish Interest (VB) (18) Christian Democratic and Flemish (CD&V) (12) Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats (Open Vld) (12) Vooruit (Forward) (9) Green (Groen) (8)
Minor	Libertarian, Direct, Democratic (LDD)

Francophone parties

Major	Socialist Party (PS) (20) Reformist Movement (MR) (14) Ecolo (13) Les Engagés (The Engaged Ones) (5) DéFI (2)
Minor	Liberal Democrats (Belgium) Libertarian Party Nation Rally Wallonia France Walloon Rally (RW) Chez nous

Unitary

Major	Workers' Party (PVDA/PTB) (12)
Minor	Agora Belgian Union (BUB) DierAnimal ISLAM Left Socialist Party (LSP/PSL) Pirate Party Pro Bruxsel Vivant Volt Belgium Communist Party

German-speaking

Former notable

Catholic Party → Christian Social Party (CVP/PSC) (1869–1968)
Labour Party (BWP/POB) → Socialist Party (SP/PS) (1885–1978)
Liberal Party → Party for Freedom and Progress (PVV/PLP) (1846–1992)

Communist Party (1921/1989–2009)
Flemish National Union (VNV) (1933–1944)
Front Party (1919–1933)
National Front (1985–2012)
People's Union (1954–2001)
Rexist Party (1930–1945)
Social Liberal Party (SLP/Spirit) (2001–2009)

The numbers are seats in the Chamber of Representatives (150)

Party of European Socialists

European Parliament group: Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats

Parties

Member states	SPÖ PS V BSP/БСП SDP EDEK/ΕΔΕΚ SOCDEM A SDE SDP PS SPD PA.SO.K./ΠΑ.ΣΟ.Κ. DK MSZP Lab PD PSI Saskaņa LSDP LSAP PL PvdA NL PS PSD SMER-SD SD PSOE SAP
Member parties (non-EU)	AP Lab SDLP
Associated parties (EU)	PBSD/БСДП Hlas-SD
Associated parties (non-EU)	PS SDP BiH S VV DPS SDP SDSM/СДСМ DS SP/PS CHP HDP
Observer parties (EU)	LSDSP
Observer parties (non-EU)	PS ARF ESDP/الديمقراطي GD HaAvoda/העבודה Meretz/מרצ PDM USPT CTP Fatah/فتح PSD SSP FDTL