Socialist Party (Belgium)

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Wikipedia

Socialist Party
  • Parti socialiste (French)
  • Socialistische Partij (Dutch)
  • Sozialistische Partei (German)
AbbreviationPS
PresidentPaul Magnette
Founded1978; 48 years ago (1978)
Preceded byBelgian Socialist Party
HeadquartersNational Secretariat
Bd de l'Empereur/Keizerslaan 13, Brussels
Think tankInstitut Emile Vandervelde[1]
Youth wingMovement of Young Socialists
Membership (2021)32,000[2]
IdeologySocial democracy[9]
Political positionCentre-left to left-wing[16]
Regional affiliationSocialists, Greens and Democrats
European affiliationParty of European Socialists
European Parliament groupProgressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
International affiliationProgressive Alliance
Socialist International
Flemish counterpartVooruit
Colours  Red
Chamber of Representatives
(French-speaking seats)
16 / 61
Senate
(French-speaking seats)
7 / 24
Walloon Parliament
19 / 75
Parliament of the French Community
28 / 94
Brussels Parliament
(French-speaking seats)
16 / 72
European Parliament
(French-speaking seats)
2 / 8
Benelux Parliament
3 / 21
Party flag
Website
ps.be

The Socialist Party[17][18][19] (French: Parti socialiste [paʁti sɔsjalist], PS) is a social democratic[20] French-speaking political party in Belgium. As of the 2024 elections, it is the fourth largest party in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and the second largest Francophone party. The party is led by Paul Magnette. The party supplies the minister-president of the French Community (Rudy Demotte), and the Brussels-Capital Region (Rudi Vervoort). 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 Wallonia.[21]

Ideology

The PS is a social democratic political party.[22] It is generally positioned in the centre-left or left of the political spectrum.[23]

On its current platform, the party identifies as progressive and eco-socialist.[24] It advocates for traditional socialist values such as equality, social justice, and (international) solidarity.[15] It is also committed to tax reform, better and more accessible health care, expanding the social safety net, and strengthening women's rights.[25]

Electoral positioning

During the 2019 election campaign, the RePresent research centre — composed of political scientists from five universities (UAntwerpen, KU Leuven, VUB, UCLouvain and ULB)[26][27] — studied the electoral programmes of Belgium's thirteen main political parties. This study classified the parties on two "left-right" axes, from "-5" (extreme left) to "5" (extreme right): a "classic" socio-economic axis, which refers to state intervention in the economic process and the degree to which the state should ensure social equality, and a socio-cultural axis, which refers to a divide articulated around an identity-based opposition on themes such as immigration, Europe, crime, the environment, emancipation, etc.[27]

The PS then presented the most left-wing programme, along with the PTB, on the socio-economic level (−4.43), and also left-wing on the socio-cultural level (−3.41).[27][28]

The RePresent centre repeated the exercise during the 2024 election campaign for the twelve main parties. The PS's positioning shifted towards the centre, while remaining on the left, on the socio-economic axis (−3.57) and remained unchanged on the socio-cultural axis (−3.46).[14]

Presidents

Sources:[11][8]

Representation in EU institutions

In the European Parliament, the PS sits in the S&D group with two MEPs: Elio Di Rupo and Estelle Ceulemans.[29][30]

Election results

The PS performed well in the 2003 general election[31] but was overtaken as the largest Francophone party by the Reformist Movement in the 2007 general election.[32]

In the 10 June 2007 general elections, the party won 20 out of 150 seats in the Chamber of Representatives[32] and 4 out of 40 seats in the Senate.[33] The PS was a member of the Leterme I Government, Van Rompuy I Government, Leterme II Government and Di Rupo I Government of 6 December 2011, with former PS leader Elio Di Rupo serving as prime minister of Belgium.

Chamber of Representatives

Election Votes % Seats +/− Government
1978 689,876 12.5
31 / 212
 Coalition
1981 733,137 12.2
35 / 212
 Increase 4 Opposition
1985 834,488 13.8
35 / 212
 Steady 0 Opposition
1987 961,361 15.6
40 / 212
 Increase 5 Coalition
1991 831,199 13.5
35 / 212
 Decrease 5 Coalition
1995 720,819 11.9
21 / 150
 Decrease 14 Coalition
1999 631,653 10.2
19 / 150
 Decrease 2 Coalition
2003 855,992 13.0
25 / 150
 Increase 6 Coalition
2007 724,787 10.9
20 / 150
 Decrease 5 Coalition
2010 894,543 13.7
26 / 150
 Increase 6 Coalition
2014 787,165 11.7
23 / 150
 Decrease 3 Opposition
2019 641,623 9.5
20 / 150
 Decrease 3 External support (2020)
Coalition (2020–2025)
2024 561,602 8.0
16 / 150
 Decrease 4 Opposition

Timeline

Results for the Chamber of Representatives, in percentages for the Kingdom of Belgium.

2019 Belgian federal election2014 Belgian general election2010 Belgian general election2007 Belgian general election2003 Belgian general election1999 Belgian general election1995 Belgian general election1991 Belgian general election1987 Belgian general election1985 Belgian general election1981 Belgian general election1978 Belgian general election

Senate

Election Votes % Seats +/−
1978 685,307 12.5
17 / 106
1981 755,512 12.7
18 / 106
 Increase 1
1985 832,792 13.9
18 / 106
 Steady 0
1987 958,686 15.7
20 / 106
 Increase 2
1991 814,136 13.3
18 / 106
 Decrease 2
1995 764,610 12.8
5 / 40
 Decrease 13
1999 597,890 9.7
4 / 40
 Decrease 1
2003 840,908 12.8
6 / 40
 Increase 2
2007 678,812 10.2
4 / 40
 Decrease 2
2010 880,828 13.6
7 / 40
 Increase 3

Regional

Brussels Parliament

Election Votes % Seats +/− Government
F.E.C. Overall
1989 96,189 22.0 (#1)
18 / 75
 Coalition
1995 88,370 21.4 (#2)
17 / 75
 Decrease 1 Coalition
1999 68,307 18.6 (#3) 16.0 (#3)
13 / 75
 Decrease 4 Coalition
2004 130,462 33.4 (#1) 28.7 (#1)
26 / 89
 Increase 13 Coalition
2009 107,303 26.2 (#2) 23.3 (#2)
21 / 89
 Decrease 5 Coalition
2014 108,755 26.6 (#1) 23.5 (#1)
21 / 89
 Steady Coalition
2019 85,530 22.0 (#1) 18.7 (#1)
17 / 89
 Decrease 4 Coalition
2024 85,929 22.1 (#2)
16 / 89
 Decrease 1 TBD

Walloon Parliament

Election Votes % Seats +/− Government
1995 665,986 35.2 (#1)
30 / 75
 Coalition
1999 560,867 29.4 (#1)
25 / 75
 Decrease 5 Coalition
2004 727,781 36.9 (#1)
34 / 75
 Increase 9 Coalition
2009 657,803 32.8 (#1)
29 / 75
 Decrease 5 Coalition
2014 626,473 30.9 (#1)
30 / 75
 Increase 1 Coalition (2014–2017)
Opposition (2017–2019)
2019 532,422 26.2 (#1)
23 / 75
 Decrease 7 Coalition
2024 480,003 23.2 (#2)
19 / 75
 Decrease 4 Opposition

German-speaking Community Parliament

Election Votes % Seats +/− Government
1990 6,407 16.3
4 / 25
 Steady 0 Opposition
1995 5,958 16.1
4 / 25
 Steady 0 Coalition
1999 5,519 15.0
4 / 25
 Steady 0 Coalition
2004 6,903 19.0
5 / 25
 Increase 1 Coalition
2009 7,231 19.3
5 / 25
 Steady 0 Coalition
2014 6,047 16.1
4 / 25
 Decrease 1 Coalition
2019 5,820 14.8
4 / 25
 Steady 0 Coalition
2024 5,473 13.7
3 / 25
 Decrease 1 Opposition

European Parliament

Previous logo of the Socialist Party
Election List leader Votes % Seats +/− EP Group
F.E.C. G.E.C. F.E.C. G.E.C. Overall
1979 Anne-Marie Lizin (F.E.C.) 575,824 N/a 27.43 (#1) N/a 10.58
4 / 24
 New SOC
1984 Ernest Glinne (F.E.C.) 762,293 N/a 34.04 (#1) N/a 13.32
5 / 24
 Increase 1
1989 Ernest Glinne (F.E.C.) 854,207 N/a 38.13 (#1) N/a 14.48
5 / 24
 Steady 0
1994 José Happart (F.E.C.)
Unclear (G.E.C.)		 680,142 4,820 30.44 (#1) 12.57 (#5) 11.48
3 / 25
 Decrease 2 PES
1999 Philippe Busquin (F.E.C.)
Charles Servaty (G.E.C.)		 596,567 4,215 25.78 (#2) 11.42 (#4) 9.59
3 / 25
 Steady 0
2004 Elio Di Rupo (F.E.C.)
Werner Baumgarten (G.E.C.)		 878,577 5,527 36.09 (#1) 14.94 (#3) 13.54
4 / 24
 Increase 1
2009 Jean-Claude Marcourt (F.E.C.)
Resi Stoffels (G.E.C.)		 714,947 5,658 29.10 (#1) 14.63 (#4) 10.88
3 / 22
 Decrease 1 S&D
2014 Marie Arena (F.E.C.)
Antonios Antoniadis (G.E.C.)		 714,645 5,835 29.29 (#1) 15.12 (#4) 10.68
3 / 21
 Steady 0
2019 Paul Magnette (F.E.C.)
Matthias Zimmermann (G.E.C.)		 651,157 4,655 26.69 (#1) 11.42 (#4) 9.74
2 / 21
 Decrease 1
2024 Elio Di Rupo (F.E.C.)
Charles Servaty (G.E.C.)		 529,697 5,131 20.52 (#1) 11.82 (#5) 7.50
2 / 22
 Steady 0

Notable figures

The Brussels headquarters of the PS (2006)

See also

References

  1. ↑ "L'IEV – PS – Parti Socialiste". PS.be. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  2. ↑ "À moins d'un an des élections, comment les partis politiques recrutent-ils leurs membres ? Et combien sont-ils ?". 20 September 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 Nordsieck, Wolfram (2019). "Wallonia/Belgium". Parties and Elections in Europe.
  4. 1 2 3 Slomp, Hans (30 September 2011). Europe, A Political Profile: An American Companion to European Politics. ABC-CLIO. pp. 465–. ISBN 978-0-313-39182-8. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 Dimitri Almeida (27 April 2012). The Impact of European Integration on Political Parties: Beyond the Permissive Consensus. CRC Press. pp. 71–. ISBN 978-1-136-34039-0. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 Richard Collin; Pamela L. Martin (2012). An Introduction to World Politics: Conflict and Consensus on a Small Planet. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 218–. ISBN 978-1-4422-1803-1. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  7. 1 2 3 Ari-Veikko Anttiroiko; Matti Mälkiä (2007). Encyclopedia of Digital Government. Idea Group Inc (IGI). pp. 397–. ISBN 978-1-59140-790-4. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Pascal Delwit (2024). Le socialisme en Belgique (1885-2024). Origines, acteurs, développements [Socialism in Belgium (1885–2024). Origins, actors, developments]. Université de Bruxelles. ISBN 978-2-8004-1872-8. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
  9. ↑ [3][4][5][6][7][8]
  10. 1 2 Josep M. Colomer (24 July 2008). Comparative European Politics. Taylor & Francis. pp. 220–. ISBN 9780203946091. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  11. 1 2 3 Xavier Mabille (2005). Le Parti socialiste. Évolution 1978–2005 [The Socialist Party. Evolution 1978–2005.]. Courrier hebdomadaire du CRISP. pp. 5–65. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
  12. 1 2 Bailly, Olivier (1 December 2010). "Wallonie : une terre éternellement socialiste ?" [Wallonia: an eternally socialist land?]. Le Monde diplomatique (in French). Retrieved 18 December 2025.
  13. 1 2 "Le PS: se réinventer à gauche tout en forgeant des compromis" [The PS: reinventing itself on the left while forging compromises]. Le Soir (in French). 9 August 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
  14. 1 2 3 Woelfle, Guillaume. "Évolution du positionnement des partis depuis 2019 : le virage (très) à droite du MR, le PS et les Engagés un peu moins à gauche – RTBF Actus". RTBF (in French). Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  15. 1 2 3 Vermeersch, Brigitte (17 April 2024). "Waar staan de Franstalige partijen voor? | VRT NWS: nieuws" [What do the French-speaking parties stand for?]. VRTNWS (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  16. ↑ [10][11][12][13][14][15]
  17. ↑ Chee, Foo Yun (23 September 2020). "Belgian king names two to form government – 16 months after election". Reuters. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  18. ↑ Anderson, Emma (20 July 2020). "Belgian Socialist leader warns of new election if coalition not formed in 50 days". Politico. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  19. ↑ Walsh, David (2 October 2020). "Belgium: New seven-party coalition government officially sworn in". Euronews. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  20. ↑ [3][4][5][6][7][8]
  21. ↑ "Van Cauwenberghe démissionne". La Libre.be (in French). 25 August 2025. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
  22. ↑ [3][4][5][6][7][8]
  23. ↑ [10][11][12][13][14][15]
  24. ↑ "170 engagements pour un futur idéal" [170 commitments for an ideal future] (PDF) (in French). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 February 2022.
  25. ↑ Contempré, Sacha (19 December 2025). "Emploi, santé et droits des femmes : voici les grandes lignes du programme du PS aux élections du 9 juin 2024 en Belgique" [Employment, health and women's rights: these are the main points of the PS's programme for the 9 June 2024 elections in Belgium]. lavenir.net (in French). Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  26. ↑ Jordens, Natacha. "EOS research project RepResent – ULB". ULB. Archived from the original on 10 October 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  27. 1 2 3 Clevers, Antoine (12 October 2025). "Les résultats des élections sont trompeurs, Flamands et Wallons ont des opinions politiques assez proches". La Libre.be (in French). Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  28. ↑ Tassin, Stéphane (12 October 2025). "Voici le positionnement des partis selon les critères économiques et sociétaux (INFOGRAPHIE)". La Libre.be (in French). Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  29. ↑ "Advanced search | Search | MEPs | European Parliament | Belgium". www.europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
  30. ↑ "Our national parties | Socialists and Democrats". www.socialistsanddemocrats.eu. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
  31. ↑ Fitzmaurice, John (January 2004). "Belgium Stays 'Purple': The 2003 Federal Election". West European Politics. 27 (1): 146–156. doi:10.1080/01402380412331280843.
  32. 1 2 "Résultat d'élection Chambre des Représentants 10 juin 2007" [Election results House of Representatives 10 June 2007]. resultatselection.belgium.be (in French). Retrieved 18 December 2025.
  33. ↑ "Résultat d'élection Sénat 10 juin 2007" [Election results Senate 10 June 2007]. resultatselection.belgium.be (in French). Retrieved 18 December 2025.