People's Party (Belgium)
Encyclopedia
The People's Party abbreviated to PP, is a conservative liberal
political party in Belgium
. Primarily a French
-speaking party, it considers itself to be to the right
of the Mouvement Réformateur, Belgium's main centre-right French-speaking party.
The PP was founded on 26 November 2009 by Rudy Aernoudt and Mischaël Modrikamen
, inspired in part by the examples of the People's Party
in Spain
and the Union for a Popular Movement
in France
. The PP considers itself to be economically liberal
in the European sense
of the term. The party's manifesto emphasizes efficiency and disinterestedness in governance, plain speaking, and individual autonomy. The PP aims to reform the justice system and to strengthen the Belgian federal government
relative to the regions and communities.
In its first electoral test, the 2010 Belgian general election
, the PP won 84,005 votes (1.29% of the national total) and returned Laurent Louis as its first Member of Parliament for Walloon Brabant
. The PP list for the Senate
, headed by Rudy Aernoudt, took 98,858 votes (1.53% nationally) but failed to return a Senator.
Aernoudt and Modrikamen had a public falling-out in August 2010. Laurent Louis had publicly supported the policy of Nicolas Sarkozy
in deporting Roma people from France. These comments provoked the indignation of both Aernoudt and the leaders of the PP's youth wing, but Modrikamen did not join in their call for Louis to apologize, and Aernoudt was expelled from the party. Aernoudt disputed the legality of his expulsion, and also criticized Modrikamen's call for a "Plan B" (an independent Wallonia-Brussels
) as a betrayal of the party's federalist identity. Aernoudt also publicly accused Modrikamen of financial misdeeds. The rupture leaves the future of the party uncertain.
Conservative liberalism
Conservative liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal values and policies with conservative stances, or, more simply, representing the right-wing of the liberal movement....
political party in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. Primarily a French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
-speaking party, it considers itself to be to the right
Right-wing politics
In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
of the Mouvement Réformateur, Belgium's main centre-right French-speaking party.
The PP was founded on 26 November 2009 by Rudy Aernoudt and Mischaël Modrikamen
Mischaël Modrikamen
Mishaël Modrikamen is a Belgian lawyer and politician. He is the leader of the conservative liberal political party Parti Populaire.- Early life and career :...
, inspired in part by the examples of the People's Party
People's Party (Spain)
The People's Party is a conservative political party in Spain.The People's Party was a re-foundation in 1989 of the People's Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's dictatorship...
in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and the Union for a Popular Movement
Union for a Popular Movement
The Union for a Popular Movement is a centre-right political party in France, and one of the two major contemporary political parties in the country along with the center-left Socialist Party...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. The PP considers itself to be economically liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
in the European sense
Liberalism in Europe
In general, liberalism in Europe is a political movement that supports a broad tradition of individual liberties and constitutionally-limited and democratically accountable government...
of the term. The party's manifesto emphasizes efficiency and disinterestedness in governance, plain speaking, and individual autonomy. The PP aims to reform the justice system and to strengthen the Belgian federal government
Belgian federal government
The Cabinet of Belgium is the executive branch of the Belgian federal government, consisting of ministers and secretaries of state drawn from the political parties which form the governing coalition. Formally, the ministers are appointed by the King...
relative to the regions and communities.
In its first electoral test, the 2010 Belgian general election
Belgian general election, 2010
General elections were held in Belgium on 13 June 2010. After the fall of the previous government over the withdrawal of Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats from the government the King dissolved the legislature and called new elections...
, the PP won 84,005 votes (1.29% of the national total) and returned Laurent Louis as its first Member of Parliament for Walloon Brabant
Walloon Brabant
Walloon Brabant is a province of Wallonia in Belgium. It borders on the province of Flemish Brabant and the provinces of Liège, Namur and Hainaut . Its capital is Wavre...
. The PP list for the Senate
Belgian Senate
The Belgian Senate is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be the "upper house" of the Federal Parliament.-History and future:...
, headed by Rudy Aernoudt, took 98,858 votes (1.53% nationally) but failed to return a Senator.
Aernoudt and Modrikamen had a public falling-out in August 2010. Laurent Louis had publicly supported the policy of Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
in deporting Roma people from France. These comments provoked the indignation of both Aernoudt and the leaders of the PP's youth wing, but Modrikamen did not join in their call for Louis to apologize, and Aernoudt was expelled from the party. Aernoudt disputed the legality of his expulsion, and also criticized Modrikamen's call for a "Plan B" (an independent Wallonia-Brussels
French Community of Belgium
The French Community of Belgium is one of the three official communities in Belgium along with the Flemish Community and the German speaking Community. Although its name could suggest that it is a community of French citizens in Belgium, it is not...
) as a betrayal of the party's federalist identity. Aernoudt also publicly accused Modrikamen of financial misdeeds. The rupture leaves the future of the party uncertain.