Reformist Movement
The Reformist Movement[9][10] (French: Mouvement Réformateur, MR) is a liberal[1][2][3] French-speaking political party in Belgium. MR is traditionally a conservative-liberal party,[4][5] but it also contains social-liberal factions.[11][12][13]
Reformist Movement Mouvement Réformateur | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | MR |
| President | Georges-Louis Bouchez |
| Founded | 24 March 2002 |
| Merger of | Liberal Reformist Party Citizens' Movement for Change Democratic Front of Francophones (2002–2010) |
| Headquarters | National Secretariat Avenue de la Toison D'Or 84-86 1060 Brussels, Belgium |
| Think tank | Centre Jean Gol |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre-right[6][7] |
| Regional affiliation | Liberal Group[8] |
| 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 |
| Benelux Parliament | 2 / 21 |
| Website | |
| www | |
The party was in coalition as part of the Michel Government and then the Wilmès Government from 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. It currently serves as part of the seven party De Croo Government.
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 a 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]
Ideology and policies edit
Although the MR's original ideology emphasised classical liberalism and free market economics, it 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.[13] However, during Georges-Louis Bouchez's tenure as party president, the party shifted to the right.[16]
On its current platform, the party states that it is economically and socially liberal. It supports lower taxes, aims to maximize the well-being of citizens but also wants to fight tax evasion. MR also supports Belgian participation in the European Union and NATO.[17]
Presidents edit
- 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 edit
In the European Parliament, Mouvement Réformateur sits in the Renew Europe group with two MEPs.[18][19]
In the European Committee of the Regions, Mouvement Réformateur sits in the Renew Europe CoR group, with one full and one alternate member for the 2020-2025 mandate.[20][21] Willy Borsus is second vice-president of the Renew Europe CoR Group.[22]
Electoral results edit
Chamber of Representatives edit
| 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 edit
| 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 edit
Brussels Parliament edit
| 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 edit
| 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 edit
| 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 edit
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b Nordsieck, Wolfram (2019). "Wallonia/Belgium". Parties and Elections in Europe.
- ^ a b Almeida, Dimitri. "Liberal Parties and European Integration" (PDF).
- ^ a b Colin Hay; Anand Menon (18 January 2007). European Politics. Oxford University Press. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-19-928428-3.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Politieke fracties". Benelux Parliament (in Dutch). Retrieved 8 August 2023.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Chardon, Frédéric. "Des libéraux veulent créer un courant progressiste au MR: avec Christine Defraigne à leur tête?". La Libre.be (in French). Retrieved 2022-01-02.
- ^ "RLP, le nouveau «Rassemblement des libéraux progressistes» au sein du MR". Le Soir (in French). 2019-11-26. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
- ^ a b Dimitri Almeida (2012). The Impact of European Integration on Political Parties: Beyond the Permissive Consensus. Routledge. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-415-69374-5.
- ^ (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. 25 September 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-25.
- ^ Chini, Maïthé; Taylor, Lukas (January 11, 2023). "A beginner's guide to Belgium's political parties". The Brussels Times. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
- ^ "Projet - MR". Mr.be. 2021-12-22. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
- ^ "Home | Olivier CHASTEL | MEPs | European Parliament". www.europarl.europa.eu. 22 November 1964. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
- ^ "Home | Frédérique RIES | MEPs | European Parliament". www.europarl.europa.eu. 14 May 1959. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
- ^ "Members Page CoR".
- ^ "Members Page CoR".
- ^ "Bureau". Renew Europe CoR. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
External links edit
Media related to Mouvement Réformateur at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website