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Socialist Party (Belgium)

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siège du Parti Socialiste, boulevard de l'Empereur à Bruxelles
Socialist Party
LeaderElio Di Rupo
Founded1978
Headquartersnational secretariat
Bd de l'Empereur/Keizerslaan, Brussels
IdeologySocial democracy
European affiliationPES
European Parliament groupPES
International affiliationSocialist International
ColoursRed
Website
www.ps.be

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 Minister-President of Wallonia (Rudy Demotte) and the Minister-President of the French Community of Belgium (Marie Arena).

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 Wallonia.

Notable figures

(Past and present)

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