Workers' Party of Belgium
Workers' Party of Belgium Partij van de Arbeid van België Parti du Travail de Belgique Partei der Arbeit Belgiens | ||
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Brussels Parliament 11 / 89 | ||
Parliament of the French Community | 13 / 94 | |
European Parliament | 1 / 21 | |
Benelux Parliament | 2 / 21 | |
Website | ||
The Workers' Party of Belgium (
History
This section needs additional citations for verification. (June 2017) |
The Workers' Party of Belgium originated in the student movement at the end of the 1960s. Students (organized in the student union SVB – Studenten VakBeweging), mainly from the
Their support and participation in an important strike in the coalmines turned the movement into a political party. They founded a periodical, AMADA (Alle Macht Aan De Arbeiders – All Power To The Workers), which became the first name of their party. In 1979 the first congress was held, which adopted a
The PTB-PVDA used to host the International Communist Seminar until 2014 which had become one of the main worldwide gatherings of communist parties.
Recent developments
This section needs additional citations for verification. (June 2017) |
Following its electoral defeat in 2003, the PVDA-PTB fundamentally changed its working methods and communication. On one hand, the PVDA-PTB said it would refocus on working with factory workers as well as on field work in the communities where it operates. On the other hand, the PVDA-PTB said it would officially break with what it calls its sectarian past to get closer to the concrete demands of citizens. This is reflected particularly by the demands put forward on very concrete issues, e.g. lower prices for
or the lower cost of trash bags.In preparation for the
On 2 March 2008, the work of the Eighth
This 'shift' seems to have produced some positive results, such as an increase in membership and a rebound of the electoral score of the PVDA-PTB in recent elections. The last elections in May 2019 showed more progress: a breakthrough was realised at the Flemish and European level. Since 2018 the party is also represented in the municipal councils of larger cities in Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels.
In September 2014, the party had more than 8,000 members, in 2020 the number had grown to 20,000. Its monthly publication "Solidaire / Solidair" has between 3,000 and 5,000 subscribers. COMAC, its youth movement, is active in all the universities in Belgium and in secondary schools (in Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels). The PVDA-PTB is also known for its 11 Medicine for the people medical centres,[17] which provide free access to primary health care.
The newspaper Solidarity, and Medicine for the People organize "ManiFiesta", a yearly festival of solidarity between the communities and the left in Belgium. The first edition was held in Bredene (by the sea) on 25 September 2010 and brought together 6,000 people from both North and South of Belgium. The fourth edition in 2013 attracted 10,000 people.[18]
Ideology and positions
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (September 2022) |
The party is
The party advocates for strengthening workers' rights, increasing pensions, and decreasing the retirement age to 65, and supports expanding social programs and the welfare state. It supports increasing taxes on the wealthy and corporations.[20] It is opposed to austerity and neoliberalism.
A central part of the party's program is the "social climate revolution", which seeks to combat both climate change and social inequality.[21]
Although the party is in favor of greater ecological policies, the party has been nicknamed the "Party of the Automobile", for its opposition to restrictions on individual car use, including opposing low emissions zones in Antwerp city center,[22] paid parking in Schaerbeek,[23] and increased fines for illegal parking in Liège. Despite this, the party also advocates for expanding public transit and making public transit free.
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
The party abstained from the vote condemning the
Historical
Historically the party supported Marxism–Leninism[25] and Maoism, although the party dropped references to Lenin and Mao, as well as references to other commonly called authoritarian regimes in the late 2000s and early 2010s.[19]
Electoral results
The
In the regional elections in 2009, the PVDA-PTB gained 1.04% of the vote in Flanders (+0.48%) and 1.24% of the vote in Wallonia (+0.62%). For the European elections on the same day, the results were: 0.98% in the Dutch-speaking electoral college (+0.37%) and 1.16% in the French-speaking electoral college (+0.35%).
In the
The
The
An
The party generally increased its vote share in the 2018 local elections, and won over 15% of the vote in several French-speaking cities.[30]
In the 2019 Belgian federal election, the party scored well and gained 10 seats.[31] The party did well in Wallonia (13.8% overall there), scoring over 16% in Liège Province, over 15% in Hainaut Province, and also over 12% in Brussels-Capital Region.[32] It achieved at least 22% of the votes in both Charleroi and La Louvière cities. Its strongest showing in Flanders was 12.71% in Antwerp city, while in Wallonia, it's strongest showing was in Herstal with 27.55% of the votes.[33] The PTB was also the fourth largest party in the European election the same day in the Francophone areas, winning 14.59% and giving it one seat.[34]
Chamber of Representatives
Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/- | Government |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1991 | 30,491 | 0.5 | 0 / 212
|
Extra-parliamentary | |
1995
|
34,247 | 0.6 | 0 / 150
|
0 | Extra-parliamentary |
1999
|
30,930 | 0.5 | 0 / 150
|
0 | Extra-parliamentary |
2003
|
20,825 | 0.2 | 0 / 150
|
0 | Extra-parliamentary |
2007
|
56,167 | 0.8 | 0 / 150
|
0 | Extra-parliamentary |
2010
|
101,088 | 1.6 | 0 / 150
|
0 | Extra-parliamentary |
2014 | 251,289 | 3.7 | 2 / 150
|
2 | Opposition |
2019 | 584,458 | 8.6 | 12 / 150
|
10 | Opposition |
Senate
Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/- |
---|---|---|---|---|
2003
|
18,699 | 0.1 | 0 / 40
|
|
2007
|
54,807 | 0.8 | 0 / 40
|
0 |
2010
|
105,060 | 1.6 | 0 / 40
|
0 |
Regional
Brussels Parliament
Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/- | Government |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2004 | 2,221 | 0.6 | 0 / 89
|
Extraparliamentary | |
2009 | 4,038 | 0.9 | 0 / 89
|
0 | Extraparliamentary |
2014 | 15,782 | 3.9 | 4 / 89
|
4 | Opposition |
2019 | 55,289 | 13.5 | 11 / 89
|
7 | Opposition |
Flemish Parliament
Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/- | Government |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2004 | 22,874 | 0.6 | 0 / 124
|
Extraparliamentary | |
2009 | 42,849 | 1.0 | 0 / 124
|
0 | Extraparliamentary |
2014 | 106,114 | 2.5 | 0 / 124
|
0 | Extraparliamentary |
2019 | 225,593 | 5.3 | 4 / 124
|
4 | Opposition |
Walloon Parliament
Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/- | Government |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2004 | 12,216 | 0.6 | 0 / 75
|
Extraparliamentary | |
2009 | 24,875 | 1.2 | 0 / 75
|
0 | Extraparliamentary |
2014 | 117,500 | 5.7 | 2 / 75
|
2 | Opposition |
2019 | 278,343 | 13.7 | 10 / 75
|
8 | Opposition |
European Parliament
Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/- |
---|---|---|---|---|
1984 | 43,637 | 0.8 | 0 / 24
|
|
1989 | 29,778 | 0.5 | 0 / 24
|
0 |
1994 | 59,270 | 1.0 | 0 / 25
|
0 |
1999[35] | 22,038 | 0.3 | 0 / 25
|
0 |
2004 | 44,452 | 0.7 | 0 / 24
|
0 |
2009 | 68,540 | 1.0 | 0 / 22
|
0 |
2014 | 234,718 | 3.5 | 0 / 22
|
0 |
2019 | 566,274 | 8.4 | 1 / 21
|
1 |
Elected politicians
European deputies
- 2019 – 2024:
Federal deputies
- 2019 – 2024:
- Nabil Boukili
- Gaby Colebunders
- Roberto D'Amico
- Greet Daems
- Steven De Vuyst
- Raoul Hedebouw
- Sofie Merckx
- Peter Mertens
- Nadia Moscufo
- Marco Van Hees
- Maria Vindevoghel
- Thierry Warmoes
Regional deputies
- 2019 – 2024:
- Brussels
- Jan Busselen
- Francis Dagrin
- Caroline De Bock
- Françoise De Smedt
- Elisa Groppi
- Youssef Handichi
- Jean-Pierre Kerckhofs
- Stéphanie Koplowicz
- Leila Lahssaini
- Petya Obolensky
- Luc Vancauwenberghe
- Flanders
- Wallonia
- Alice Bernard
- John Beugnies
- Jori Dupont
- Antoine Hermant
- Laure Lekane
- Julien Liradelfo
- Germain Mugemangango
- Samuel Nemes
- Amandine Pavet
- Anouk Vandevoorde
Provincial councilors
- 2018 – 2024:
- Catharina Craen
- Giovanni Dell'Area
- Marc Delrez
- Catherine Lacomble
- Luc Navet
- Rafik Rassâa
- Marie-Christine Scheen
- Rudy Sohier
- Luc Vandenameele
- Patricia Van Muylder
References
- ^ "RedFox". nl.redfox.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- ^ Verschelden, Wouter (2023-01-01). "Raoul Hedebouw (PVDA) gelooft ook in Vlaanderen in een doorbraak voor hem, en viseert Conner Rousseau: "Wat voor gedoe is dat, om heel de tijd de N-VA achterna te lopen?"". Business AM (in Flemish). Retrieved 2023-01-31.
- ISBN 9781000728576.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - hdl:1854/LU-8752231.
- ^ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2019). "Belgium". Parties and Elections in Europe.
- ^ O'Sullivan, Feargus (17 November 2022). "Brussels' Plan for Car-Free Streets Hits a Few Bumps". Bloomberg. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
- ^ Hope, Alan (2021-05-17). "Flemish parliament resolves to fight LGBTQI+ discrimination". The Brussels Times. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
- ISBN 9781538134573.
- ISBN 978-1786433640.
- ^ "Greens make historic gains in Belgium local elections". France 24. 15 October 2018.
The election's other big winner in the Belgian capital was the leftwing Workers Party (PTB/PvdA), especially in the city's former industrial districts.
- ^ Nielsen, Nikolaj (25 May 2019). "Belgium votes in hybrid EU-national election". EUobserver. Brussels. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
Among the new hopefuls for its 21 seats in the European Parliament is Marc Botenga, a Walloon from the far left Workers' Party of Belgium (PTB).
- ^ Dorpe, Simon; Cerulus, Laurens; Cokelaere, Hanne (27 May 2019). "Far-right surge in triple election shocks Belgium". Politico (Europe edition). Retrieved 27 May 2020.
The far-left Workers' Party is set to win big across the country too, winning around 8 percent of votes nationally.
- ^ "Belgium". POLITICO. 16 February 2022.
- ^ Cerulus, Laurens (2 January 2017). "The party that's pulling the Belgian left to the left". Politico.
- ^ "Socialism Today – The rise of the Workers' Party of Belgium". www.socialismtoday.org.
- ^ "Radical left makes breakthrough in Belgium". Green Left Weekly. 20 October 2018.
- ^ "Médecine pour le Peuple – Accueil". Médecine pour le Peuple.
- ^ "Met 8.000 op ManiFiesta 2012" (in Dutch). DeWereldMorgen. September 23, 2012.
- ^ .
- ^ "The party that's pulling the Belgian left to the left". 2 January 2017.
- ^ "Le PTB présente son plan pour une révolution climatique sociale". www.ptb.be (in French).
- ^ "Groen clasht met PVDA over LEZ: "U bewijst dat u gezondheid toch niet zo belangrijk vindt"". Gazet van Antwerpen (in Dutch). 25 April 2017.
- ^ "Nos amis ont le droit de nous rendre visite sans devoir payer pour se garer ! Onze vrienden hebben het recht om ons te bezoeken zonder dat ze hoeven te betalen om te parkeren!". schaerbeek.ptb.be. 4 January 2020.
- ^ "La Chambre condamne la guerre en Ukraine, le PTB s'abstient". RTBF (in French). Retrieved 2022-03-27.
- ^ Walkowiak, Philippe (12 June 2019). "La Wallonie face à Mao, sauce lapin". RTBF.
- ^ "Resultats>Chambre". Le Soir. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
- ^ "Resultats>Parlement Wallon". Le Soir. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
- ^ "Resultats> Parlement Bruxellois". Le Soir. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
- ^ "La fusée PTB dans la stratosphère, le Parti socialiste s'écrase totalement". L'Echo. 3 July 2017.
- ^ Le PTB ferait un "belle percée" dans les villes en Wallonie RTBF, Retrieved 15 October 2018. In French.
- ^ "Belgium Worker's Party obtains excellent results in federal, regional and European elections". Fight Back! News.
- ^ "Elections 2019 – PTB*PVDA". www.rtl.be.
- ^ mai 2019, Rédaction en ligne-26. "Les résultats électoraux du PTB". PTB.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ DH.be (27 May 2019). "Voici vos nouveaux élus dans la région de Charleroi". www.dhnet.be.
- ^ Results for PVDA only.
External links
Media related to Workers' Party of Belgium at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website (in Dutch and French)
- Statuts du PTB (French)