Reformist Movement
Encyclopedia
The Reformist Movement is a French-speaking
liberal
political party
in Belgium. The party was in coalition as part of the Leterme II Government
, and was also part of the governing coalition in the Walloon Region and Brussels-Capital Region
until the 2004 regional elections
. From 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 a tightly knit alliance between three French-speaking and one German-speaking liberal parties. The Liberal Reformist Party
(PRL) and the regionalist
Francophone Democratic Federalists (FDF) started the alliance in 1993, and were joined in 1998 by the progressive
Christian democratic
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. 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 European Liberal Democrat and Reform 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 2010–2011 Belgian government formation .
Though the MR's original ideology emphasised classical liberalism
and free market
economics, it has of late joined the general trend of Belgian liberals to social liberalism
under the influence of Dirk Verhofstadt
, whose brother Guy Verhofstadt
led the MR's Flemish counterpart, the Open VLD.
, MR won 23 out of 150 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 6 out of 40 seats in the Senate
.
, MR won 18 out of 150 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 4 out of 40 seats in the Senate
.
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...
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,...
political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in Belgium. The party was in coalition as part of the Leterme II Government
Leterme II Government
The Leterme II Government was the federal government of Belgium from 24 November 2009 to 26 April 2010. it is still the caretaker government. It took office when the Flemish Christian Democrat Yves Leterme was sworn in as Prime Minister. It followed the Van Rompuy I Government which ended...
, and was also part of the governing coalition in the Walloon Region and Brussels-Capital Region
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
until the 2004 regional elections
Belgian regional elections, 2004
On June 13, 2004, regional elections were held in Belgium, to choose representatives in the regional councils of the Flemish Parliament, the Walloon Parliament, the Brussels Parliament and the German-speaking Community of Belgium...
. From the 2007 general election
Belgian general election, 2007
The 2007 Belgian general election took place on Sunday 10 June 2007. Voters went to the polls in order to elect new members for the Chamber of Representatives and Senate.Eligible voters were Belgian citizens 18 years and older...
, the MR was the largest Francophone
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
political formation in Belgium, a position that was regained by the Socialist Party in the 2010 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 MR is a tightly knit alliance between three French-speaking and one German-speaking liberal parties. The Liberal Reformist Party
Liberal Reformist Party
The Parti Réformateur Libéral was a Belgian liberal party active in Wallonia and Brussels. It grew out of the unitiarian PVV-PLP and has since become part of the Mouvement Réformateur.-PVV-PLP:* Omer Vanaudenhove 1961 - 1968...
(PRL) and the regionalist
Regionalism (politics)
Regionalism is a term used in international relations. Regionalism also constitutes one of the three constituents of the international commercial system...
Francophone Democratic Federalists (FDF) started the alliance in 1993, and were joined in 1998 by the progressive
Progressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
Christian democratic
Christian Democracy
Christian democracy is a political ideology that seeks to apply Christian principles to public policy. It emerged in nineteenth-century Europe under the influence of conservatism and Catholic social teaching...
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
Partei für Freiheit und Fortschritt
The Party for Freedom and Progress is a regional liberal party in Belgium, only active in the tiny German-speaking Community of Belgium....
joined as well. The label PRL
Liberal Reformist Party
The Parti Réformateur Libéral was a Belgian liberal party active in Wallonia and Brussels. It grew out of the unitiarian PVV-PLP and has since become part of the Mouvement Réformateur.-PVV-PLP:* Omer Vanaudenhove 1961 - 1968...
is no longer used, and the three other parties still use their own names.
The MR is member of Liberal International
Liberal International
Liberal International is a political international federation for liberal parties. Its headquarters is located at 1 Whitehall Place, London, SW1A 2HD within the National Liberal Club. It was founded in Oxford in 1947, and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties and for the...
and the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party
European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party
The European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party is a European political party mainly active in the European Union, composed of 56 national-level liberal and liberal-democratic parties from across Europe...
. However, on 25 September 2011, the FDF decided to leave the coalition. They did not agree with the manner in which president Charles Michel
Charles Michel (Belgian politician)
Charles Michel is a Belgian politician, and the son of Louis Michel. As of February 2011, Charles Michel is the Chairman of the francophone liberal party MR....
defended the rights of the French-speaking people in the agreement concerning the splitting of the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde
Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde
Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde is a Belgian electoral and judicial arrondissement in the center of the country, encompassing:* the officially bilingual Brussels-Capital Region, which coincides...
district, during the 2010–2011 Belgian government formation .
Though the MR's original ideology emphasised classical liberalism
Classical liberalism
Classical liberalism is the philosophy committed to the ideal of limited government, constitutionalism, rule of law, due process, and liberty of individuals including freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and free markets....
and free market
Free market
A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
economics, it has of late joined the general trend of Belgian liberals to social liberalism
Social liberalism
Social liberalism is the belief that liberalism should include social justice. It differs from classical liberalism in that it believes the legitimate role of the state includes addressing economic and social issues such as unemployment, health care, and education while simultaneously expanding...
under the influence of Dirk Verhofstadt
Dirk Verhofstadt
Dirk Verhofstadt is a Belgian social liberal theorist and brother of former Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt. He has a keen interest in political philosophy, and his philosophical outlook is influenced by Karl Popper, John Stuart Mill, Thomas Paine, Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum...
, whose brother Guy Verhofstadt
Guy Verhofstadt
Guy Verhofstadt is a Belgian politician who was the 47th Prime Minister of Belgium from 1999 to 2008. He is currently a Member of the European Parliament and leader of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.- Early career :...
led the MR's Flemish counterpart, the Open VLD.
2007 general election
In the 10 June 2007 general electionsBelgian general election, 2007
The 2007 Belgian general election took place on Sunday 10 June 2007. Voters went to the polls in order to elect new members for the Chamber of Representatives and Senate.Eligible voters were Belgian citizens 18 years and older...
, MR won 23 out of 150 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 6 out of 40 seats in 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:...
.
2010 general election
In the 13 June 2010 general electionsBelgian 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...
, MR won 18 out of 150 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 4 out of 40 seats in 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:...
.
Notable figures
- Bernard ClerfaytBernard ClerfaytBernard Clerfayt is a Belgian politician. He has been the mayor of Schaerbeek since 2001 and is currently vice-president of the Front Démocratique des Francophones as well as Belgian Secretary of State for Finance....
- Alain DestexheAlain DestexheAlain Destexhe is a Belgian liberal politician. He was elected senator for the Francophone electoral college in 2003, and again in 2007. Destexhe is a member of the liberal Reformist Movement and represents Belgium in the World Economic Forum. He was awarded the Prize of Liberty by Nova Civitas...
- Daniel DucarmeDaniel DucarmeDaniel Ducarme was a Belgian politician and former Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region.-Background and political affiliation:...
- Antoine DuquesneAntoine DuquesneAntoine Duquesne was a Belgian politician and Member of the European Parliament for the French Community of Belgium with the MR/MCC/PRL, Member of the Bureau of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and sits on the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home...
- Jean GolJean GolJean Gol was a Belgian politician for the liberal party Parti Réformateur Libéral and a freemason...
- Jacques SimonetJacques SimonetJacques Simonet was a Belgian politician and a former Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region.He is the son of Henri Simonet, former Socialist Party minister and for many years mayor of Anderlecht. His mother Marie-Louise Angenet taught at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.He was born in...
- Sabine LaruelleSabine LaruelleSabine Laruelle is a Belgian politician. She was Belgian Minister of Economy, the Self-employed and Agriculture in the Verhofstadt III government inaugurated on 21 December 2007. She is now Minister for SMEs, the Self-employed, Agriculture and Science Policy in the Leterme I Government, which took...
- Olivier MaingainOlivier MaingainOlivier D.A.Gh. Maingain is a Belgian francophone politician and president of the Front Démocratique des Francophones , a wing of the French-speaking liberal party Reformist Movement .-Biography:...
- Charles MichelCharles Michel (Belgian politician)Charles Michel is a Belgian politician, and the son of Louis Michel. As of February 2011, Charles Michel is the Chairman of the francophone liberal party MR....
- Louis MichelLouis MichelLouis H. O. Ch. Michel is a Belgian politician. He served in the government of Belgium as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1999 to 2004 and was European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid from 2004 to 2009. Since 2009, he has been a Member of the European Parliament...
- Didier ReyndersDidier ReyndersDidier J.L. Reynders is a Belgian politician and a member of the Mouvement Réformateur . He is Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance and Institutional Reforms in the Van Rompuy I Government, which took office on 30 December 2008.He was born in Liège as the youngest in a family of...
See also
- LiberalismLiberalismLiberalism 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,...
- Liberalism in BelgiumLiberalism in BelgiumThis article gives an overview of liberalism in Belgium. It is limited to liberal parties with substantial support, mainly proved by having had a representation in parliament. The sign ⇒ denotes another party in that scheme...
- Contributions to liberal theoryContributions to liberal theoryIndividual contributors to classical liberalism and political liberalism are associated with philosophers of the Enlightenment. Liberalism as a specifically named ideology begins in the late 18th century as a movement towards self-government and away from aristocracy...
- Liberalism worldwideLiberalism worldwideThis article gives information on liberalism in diverse countries around the world. It is an overview of parties that adhere more or less to the ideas of political liberalism and is therefore a list of liberal parties around the world....
- Liberal ArchiveLiberal Archive (Belgium)The Liberal Archive , located in Ghent, is the central archive of the Belgian liberal organizations, such as the liberal party , the Willemsfonds, the Liberaal Vlaams Verbond and the liberal young guards/Pvv-Jongeren.The Liberal Archive was founded in Ghent in 1982 and was recognised by the Flemish...