Workers' Party of Belgium

Workers' Party of Belgium
Partij van de Arbeid van België
Parti du Travail de Belgique
President Peter Mertens
Founder Ludo Martens
Founded 1979
Headquarters Leon Dumortierstraat 67, 2540 Hove
Youth wing COMAC & Red Foxes
Ideology Communism[1][2]
Marxism[3]
Marxism-Leninism[4]
Socialism[1][5]
Political position Far-left[4]
European affiliation None
International affiliation International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties
International Communist Seminar
European Parliament group No MEPs
Colours      Red
Chamber of Representatives
2 / 150
Senate
0 / 60
Walloon Parliament
2 / 75
Brussels Parliament
4 / 89
European Parliament
0 / 21
Website
www.pvda.be (Dutch)
www.ptb.be (French)

The Workers' Party of Belgium (Dutch: Partij van de Arbeid van België, PVDA; French: Parti du Travail de Belgique, PTB; stylized as PVDA+/PTB-GO!) is a far-left[4] political party in Belgium that operates as a single Belgian party, in contrast to most other Belgian political parties, which are either Flemish or Francophone.

The PVDA-PTB hosts the International Communist Seminar, which in recent years has become one of the main worldwide gatherings of communist parties.

History

The Workers' Party of Belgium originated in the student movement at the end of the 1960s. Radicalized students (organized in the student union SVB - Studenten VakBeweging), mainly from the Catholic University of Leuven, turned towards the working-class movement. They considered the politics of the existing Communist Party of Belgium revisionist, i.e. too much turned toward social-democratic politics (represented in Belgium by the Belgian Socialist Party). They were influenced by the ideas of the Communist Party of China, guerrilla movements in Latin America, the movement against the Vietnam War, and the Leuven-Vlaams movement, all perceived as aspects of a worldwide struggle against colonial or neo-colonial oppression and for civil or workers' rights.

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 Maoist programme and changed the name into PVDA-PTB. Ludo Martens became the first president, and remained an important ideologist of the party until his death in 2011.

Recent developments

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 medication, the reduction of VAT on energy products from 21% to 6%, an increase of the minimum pension, better control of rents or the lower cost of trash bags.

In preparation for the Belgian elections of June 2007, the Solidarity newspaper and the website of the party were merged in order to reach a wider public. The structures have also been "open" to a broader layer of activists.

On 2 March 2008, the work of the Eighth Congress of the PVDA-PTB was completed with a closing meeting at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. This Congress was conducted with the theme of "party renewal." A new Central Committee was elected, which in turn elected a new Bureau of the Party. It consists of:

  • Peter Mertens, °1969. President
  • Lydia Neufcourt, °1955. Responsible for expanding the party
  • Raoul Hedebouw, °1977. National voice of the PVDA-PTB
  • Joris Van Gorp, °1952. Head of union relations
  • Jo Cottenier, °1947. Responsible for the socio-economic issues
  • Baudouin Deckers, °1946. Head of International Relations.
  • Tom De Meester, °1975. Energy.
  • David Pestieau, °1969. Editor of Solidarity.
Workers Party of Belgium propaganda in Brussels, 2008

This 'shift' seems to have produced some positive results, such as a slight increase in membership and a rebound (albeit moderate) of the electoral score of the PVDA-PTB in recent elections. The last elections in October 2012 showed more progress: with 8% in Antwerp and results in 20 city-councils (Brussels, Liège...). There has also been an increase in media coverage of the party.

In September 2014 the party had more than 8,000 members. Its monthly publication "Solidarity / Solidarity" 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,[6] 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.[7]

Electoral results

The general elections of 2007 saw the party obtaining 0.88% in the Flemish electoral district and 0.81% in Wallonia.

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 general elections of June 2010 the party saw further growth. In Flanders it now represents 1.3% (+0.4%) of the votes for the Chamber of Representatives and 1.4% (+0.5%) for the Senate. Especially in the cities progress was noted with high scores in Antwerp (4.1%) and Liège (4.2%). The highest scores were gained in the cantons of Herstal (9.8%), Assenede (7.5%) and Seraing (7.3%); all places where the PVDA-PTB traditionally is strong.

The municipal and provincial elections in 2012 were considered a breakthrough on a local level for the PVDA-PTB. The party won 52 seats in total; 31 in municipal councils, 4 in provincial councils, and 17 in the district councils.

The federal and regional elections in 2014 saw further success for the party. They elected two deputies to the Chamber of Representatives,[8] two others to the Walloon Parliament,[9] and finally four to the Brussels Parliament.[10]

An opinion poll released in July 2017 suggested the party was the most popular party in Wallonia at the time, with 25% of respondents indicating they intended to vote for the party. The second-most popular party was the Mouvement Réformateur, part of the governing coalition, with 23%. The poll indicated that the Workers' Party would win 26 seats in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives if the next federal election were held immediately, putting it in tied first place with the Flemish N-VA.[11]

The party generally increased its vote share in the 2018 local elections, and won over 15% of the vote in several French-speaking cities.[12]

Federal Parliament

Chamber of Representatives (Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers/Chambre des Représentants/Abgeordnetenkammer)
Election year # of
overall votes		 % of
overall vote		 % of language
group vote		 # of
overall seats won		 # of language
group seats won		 +/– Government
1991 30,491 0.5
0 / 212
 in extraparliamentary opposition
1995 34,247
0 / 150
 Steady 0 in extraparliamentary opposition
1999 30,930
0 / 150
 Steady 0 in extraparliamentary opposition
2003 20,825 0.2
0 / 150
 Steady 0 in extraparliamentary opposition
2007 56,167 0.8
0 / 150
 Steady 0 in extraparliamentary opposition
2010 101,088 1.6
0 / 150
 Steady 0 in extraparliamentary opposition
2014 251,289 3.72
2 / 150
 Increase 2 in opposition
Senate (Senaat/Sénat/Senat)
Election year # of
overall votes		 % of
overall vote		 % of language
group vote		 # of
overall seats won		 # of language
group seats won		 +/– Government
2003 18,699 0.1
0 / 40
 in extraparliamentary opposition
2007 54,807 0.8
0 / 40
 Steady 0 in extraparliamentary opposition
2010 105,060 1.6
0 / 40
 Steady 0 in extraparliamentary opposition

Regional parliaments

Brussels Parliament

Election year # of
overall votes		 % of
overall vote		 % of language
group vote		 # of
overall seats won		 # of language
group seats won		 +/– Government
2004 2,221 0.6
0 / 89
 in extraparliamentary opposition
2009 4,038 0.9
0 / 89
 Steady 0 in extraparliamentary opposition
2014 15,782 3.86
4 / 89
 Increase 4 in opposition

Flemish Parliament

Election year # of
overall votes		 % of
overall vote		 % of language
group vote		 # of
overall seats won		 # of language
group seats won		 +/– Government
2004 22,874 0.6
0 / 124
 in extraparliamentary opposition
2009 42,849 1.04
0 / 124
 Steady 0 in extraparliamentary opposition
2014 106,114 2.53
0 / 124
 Steady 0 in extraparliamentary opposition

Walloon Parliament

Election year # of
overall votes		 % of
overall vote		 % of language
group vote		 # of
overall seats won		 # of language
group seats won		 +/– Government
2004 12,216 0.6
0 / 75
 in extraparliamentary opposition
2009 24,875 1.24
0 / 75
 Steady 0 in extraparliamentary opposition
2014 117,500 5.75
2 / 75
 Increase 2 in opposition

European Parliament

Election year # of
overall votes		 % of
overall vote		 % of language
group vote		 # of
overall seats won		 # of language
group seats won		 +/–
1984 43,637 0.76
0 / 24
1989 29,778 0.50
0 / 24
 Steady 0
1994 59,270 0.99
0 / 25
 Steady 0
1999[13] 22,038 0.35
0 / 25
 Steady 0
2004 44,452 0.7
0 / 24
 Steady 0
2009 68,540 1.04
0 / 22
 Steady 0
2014 234,718 3.51
0 / 22
 Steady 0

Elected politicians

Federal deputies

  • 2014 – 2019:
  1. Raoul Hedebouw
  2. Marco Van Hees

Regional deputies

  • 2014 – 2019:
  • Brussels
  1. Michaël Verbauwhede
  2. Mathilde El Bakri
  3. Youssef Handichi
  4. Claire Geraets
  • Wallonia
  1. Frédéric Gillot
  2. Rudy Warnier

Provincial councilors

  • 2012 – 2018:
  1. Liège (province) Marcel Bergen
  2. Antwerp (province) Kris Merckx
  3. Antwerp (province) Nicole Naert
  4. Liège (province) Rafik Rassâa

References

  1. 1 2 Nordsieck, Wolfram (2014). "Belgium". Parties and Elections in Europe.
  2. ↑ "Data" (PDF). ptb.be. 2014.
  3. ↑ Interview with president Peter Mertens in 'Knack', 11/02/2009 (in Dutch)
  4. 1 2 3 "European Social Survey 2012 - Appendix 3 (in English)" (PDF). European Science Foundation. 1 January 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  5. ↑ The PVDA-PTB discusses its ideology on the Belgian political tv programme Reyers Politiek, 10/04/2014(in Dutch)
  6. ↑ Website 'Geneeskunde voor het Volk - Médecine pour le Peuple' (in Dutch)(in French)
  7. ↑ Met 8.000 op ManiFiesta 2012, DeWereldMorgen.be 23/09/2012 (in Dutch)
  8. ↑ "Resultats>Chambre". Le Soir. Le Soir. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  9. ↑ "Resultats>Parlement Wallon". Le Soir. Le Soir. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  10. ↑ "Resultats> Parlement Bruxellois". Le Soir. Le Soir. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  11. ↑ "La fusée PTB dans la stratosphère, le Parti socialiste s'écrase totalement". 3 July 2017.
  12. ↑ Le PTB ferait un "belle percée" dans les villes en Wallonie RTBF, Retrieved 15 October 2018. In French.
  13. ↑ Results for PVDA only.
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