European Centre for Research on Federalism

Europäische Länderberichte [European country reports]

Föderalismus in Belgien 2003: die Ruhe vor dem Sturm?

Wilfried Swenden

pp. 195-206

Although 2003 was a relatively quiet year as far as the institutional development of Belgian federalism is concerned, it did not pass unnoticed to federalism watchers. For the first time, federal elections were organised that did no longer coincide with regional elections. The federal elections of 18 May 2003 provided a first test of the electoral stability of Belgian federalism. The bipolarity of Belgiums federalism, the absence of state-wide parties, institutional requirements of consensual decision-making and a strong partitocratic legacy fostered a strong political interdependence between the federal and regional levels of government. The article discusses to what extent electoral shifts in the federal arena influenced the stability of the regional governments, and looks ahead at the regional elections of June 2004. It also reviews plans for institutional reform which the newly instated federal government announced in its federal policy declaration and discusses an attempt by Flemish politicians to enforce domestic language rights via the Council of Europe.

Suggested citation for this article:
Swenden, Wilfried 2004: Föderalismus in Belgien 2003: die Ruhe vor dem Sturm?, in: Europäisches Zentrum für Föderalismus-Forschung (ed.): Jahrbuch des Föderalismus 2004. Föderalismus, Subsidiarität und Regionen in Europa, Baden-Baden: Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, p. 195-206.