Reformist Movement
Reformist Movement Mouvement Réformateur | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President | Georges-Louis Bouchez |
| Founded | 21 March 2002 |
| Preceded by | Liberal Reformist Party Citizens' Movement for Change |
| Headquarters | National Secretariat Avenue de la Toison D'Or 84-86 1060 Brussels, Belgium |
| Ideology | Liberalism[1][2][3] Conservative liberalism[4][5] Social liberalism[6] Pro-Europeanism |
| Political position | Centre-left[7][8][9] to centre-right[10][11] |
| European affiliation | Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe |
| International affiliation | Liberal International |
| European Parliament group | Renew Europe |
| Flemish counterpart | Open VLD |
| German-speaking counterpart | Party for Freedom and Progress |
| Colours | Blue |
| Chamber of Representatives (French-speaking seats) | 14 / 61 |
| Senate (French-speaking seats) | 8 / 24 |
| Walloon Parliament | 20 / 75 |
| Parliament of the French Community | 30 / 94 |
| Parliament of the German-speaking Community | 3 / 25 |
| Brussels Parliament (French-speaking seats) | 18 / 72 |
| European Parliament (French-speaking seats) | 2 / 8 |
| Website | |
| www | |
The Reformist Movement[12][13] (French: Mouvement Réformateur, MR) is a liberal[1][2][3] French-speaking political party in Belgium. The party is in coalition as part of the Michel Government then Wilmès Government since October 2014, having provided two prime ministers since. After the 2007 general election the MR was the largest Francophone political formation in Belgium, a position that was regained by the Socialist Party in the 2010 general election.
The MR is an alliance between three French-speaking and one German-speaking liberal parties. The Liberal Reformist Party (PRL) and the Francophone Democratic Federalists (FDF) started the alliance in 1993, and were joined in 1998 by the Citizens' Movement for Change (MCC). The alliance was then known as the PRL-FDF-MCC federation. The alliance became the MR during a congress in 2002, where the German-speaking liberal party, the Party for Freedom and Progress joined as well.[14] The label PRL is no longer used, and the three other parties still use their own names. The MR is member of Liberal International and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) Party. However, on 25 September 2011, the FDF decided to leave the coalition. They did not agree with the manner in which president Charles Michel defended the rights of the French-speaking people in the agreement concerning the splitting of the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde district, during the 2010–11 Belgian government formation.[15]
Although the MR's original ideology emphasised classical liberalism and free market economics, it has of late joined the general trend of Belgian liberals to accept elements of social liberalism under the influence of Dirk Verhofstadt, whose brother Guy Verhofstadt led the MR's Flemish counterpart, the Open VLD.[16]
Presidents[]
- 2002–2003: Daniel Ducarme
- 2003–2004: Antoine Duquesne
- 2004–2011: Didier Reynders
- 2011–2014: Charles Michel
- 2014–2019: Olivier Chastel
- 2019: Charles Michel
- 2019–present: Georges-Louis Bouchez
Representation in EU Institutions[]
In the European Parliament, Mouvément Reformateur sits in the Renew Europe group with two MEPs.[17][18]
In the European Committee of the Regions, Mouvément Reformateur sits in the Renew Europe CoR group, with two full and one alternate member for the 2020-2025 mandate.[19][20] Willy Borsus is a member of the Renew Europe CoR Bureau.[21]
Electoral results[]
Chamber of Representatives[]
| Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/- | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 623,250 | 10.3 | 19 / 150
|
Opposition | |
| 1999 | 630,219 | 10.1 | 18 / 150
|
 1
|
Coalition |
| 2003 | 748,954 | 11.4 | 24 / 150
|
 6
|
Coalition |
| 2007 | 835,073 | 12.5 | 23 / 150
|
1
|
Coalition |
| 2010 | 605,617 | 9.3 | 18 / 150
|
5
|
Coalition |
| 2014 | 650,260 | 9.6 | 20 / 150
|
2
|
Coalition |
| 2019 | 512,825 | 7.6 | 14 / 150
|
6
|
Coalition |
Senate[]
| Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 672,798 | 11.2 | 5 / 40
|
|
| 1999 | 654,961 | 10.6 | 5 / 40
|
 0
|
| 2003 | 795,757 | 12.2 | 5 / 40
|
0
|
| 2007 | 815,755 | 12.3 | 6 / 40
|
1
|
| 2010 | 599,618 | 9.3 | 4 / 40
|
2
|
Regional[]
Brussels Parliament[]
| Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/- | Government | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F.E.C. | Overall | |||||
| 1989 | 83,011 | 18.9 (#2) | 15 / 75
|
Opposition | ||
| 1995 | 144,478 | 35.0 (#1) | 28 / 75
|
13
|
Coalition | |
| 1999 | 146,845 | 40.1 (#1) | 34.4 (#1) | 27 / 75
|
1
|
Coalition |
| 2004 | 127,122 | 32.5 (#2) | 28.0 (#2) | 25 / 89
|
2
|
Opposition |
| 2009 | 121,905 | 29.8 (#1) | 26.5 (#1) | 24 / 89
|
1
|
Opposition |
| 2014 | 94,227 | 23.0 (#2) | 20.4 (#2) | 18 / 89
|
6
|
Opposition |
| 2019 | 65,502 | 16.9 (#3) | 14.3 (#3) | 13 / 89
|
5
|
Opposition |
Walloon Parliament[]
| Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/- | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 447,542 | 23.7 (#2) | 19 / 75
|
Opposition | |
| 1999 | 470,454 | 24.7 (#2) | 21 / 75
|
2
|
Coalition |
| 2004 | 478,999 | 24.3 (#2) | 20 / 75
|
1
|
Opposition |
| 2009 | 469,792 | 23.1 (#2) | 19 / 75
|
1
|
Opposition |
| 2014 | 546,363 | 26.7 (#2) | 25 / 75
|
6
|
Opposition |
| 2019 | 435,878 | 21.4 (#2) | 20 / 75
|
5
|
Coalition |
European Parliament[]
| Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/- | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F.E.C. | Overall | ||||
| 1979 | 372,904 | 17.8 (#4) | 6.8 | 2 / 24
|
|
| 1984 | 540,610 | 24.1 (#2) | 3 / 24
|
1
| |
| 1989 | 423,479 | 18.9 (#2) | 7.2 | 2 / 24
|
1
|
| 1994 | 541,724 | 24.2 (#2) | 3 / 25
|
1
| |
| 1999 | 624,445 | 27.0 (#1) | 10.0 | 3 / 25
|
0
|
| 2004 | 671,422 | 27.6 (#2) | 10.3 | 3 / 24
|
0
|
| 2009 | 640,092 | 26.0 (#2) | 9.7 | 2 / 22
|
1
|
| 2014 | 661,332 | 27.1 (#2) | 9.9 | 3 / 22
|
1
|
| 2019 | 470,654 | 19.3 (#3) | 7.1 | 2 / 22
|
1
|
Notable figures[]
- Willy Borsus
- Christine Defraigne
- Alain Destexhe
- Daniel Ducarme
- Antoine Duquesne
- Jean Gol
- Sabine Laruelle
- Charles Michel
- Louis Michel
- Didier Reynders
- Jacques Simonet
See also[]
- Liberalism
- Liberalism in Belgium
- Contributions to liberal theory
- Liberalism worldwide
- Liberal Archive
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b Nordsieck, Wolfram (2019). "Wallonia/Belgium". Parties and Elections in Europe.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Almeida, Dimitri. "Liberal Parties and European Integration" (PDF).
- ^ Jump up to: a b Colin Hay; Anand Menon (18 January 2007). European Politics. Oxford University Press. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-19-928428-3.
- ^ Hans Slomp (30 September 2011). Europe, A Political Profile: An American Companion to European Politics. ABC-CLIO. p. 465. ISBN 978-0-313-39182-8. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
- ^ Peter Starke; Alexandra Kaasch; Franca Van Hooren (7 May 2013). The Welfare State as Crisis Manager: Explaining the Diversity of Policy Responses to Economic Crisis. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 192. ISBN 978-1-137-31484-0.
- ^ Almeida, Dimitri (2012). The Impact of European Integration on Political Parties: Beyond the Permissive Consensus. ISBN 9780415693745.
- ^ Dandoy, Régis. L'analyse des programmes de partis. In: Frognier André-Paul, De Winter Lieven, Baudewyns Pierre, Elections: le reflux ? Comportements et attitudes lors des élections en Belgique, De Boeck : Brussels 2007, p. 141-156 | https://dial.uclouvain.be/pr/boreal/object/boreal:156985
- ^ https://www.lecho.be/economie-politique/belgique/bruxelles/alexia-bertrand-mr-bruxelles-doit-sortir-du-cercle-vicieux-d-appauvrissement/10239846.html
- ^ Dedecker, Nicolas. Le Mouvement Réformateur (MR) | https://dipot.ulb.ac.be/dspace/bitstream/2013/108121/1/Dedecker2%20%20PARTIS%20POLITIQUES.pdf
- ^ Josep M. Colomer (2008). Comparative European Politics. Taylor & Francis. p. 220. ISBN 978-0-203-94609-1. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
- ^ Rik Pinxten (2006). "Neo-nationalism and Democracy in Belgium: On understanding the contexts of neo-communitarianism". In André Gingrich; Marcus Banks (eds.). Neo-nationalism in Europe and Beyond: Perspectives from Social Anthropology. Berghahn Books. p. 131. ISBN 978-1-84545-190-5.
- ^ Walsh, David (2 October 2020). "Belgium: New seven-party coalition government officially sworn in". Euronews. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- ^ Birnbaum, Michael (20 December 2019). "Without a government for a year, Belgium shows what happens to politics without politicians". The Washington Post. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- ^ "Le Mouvement Réformateur: Statuts" (PDF) (in French). The Reformist Movement. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
- ^ "FDF almost unanimously votes in favour of split with MR" (in Dutch). deredactie.be. Retrieved 2011-09-25.
- ^ Dimitri Almeida (2012). The Impact of European Integration on Political Parties: Beyond the Permissive Consensus. Routledge. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-415-69374-5.
- ^ "Home | Olivier CHASTEL | MEPs | European Parliament". www.europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
- ^ "Home | Frédérique RIES | MEPs | European Parliament". www.europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
- ^ "Members Page CoR".
- ^ "Members Page CoR".
- ^ "Bureau". Renew Europe CoR. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
External links[]
Media related to Mouvement Réformateur at Wikimedia Commons
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