Green!
Encyclopedia
Groen! is a Belgian
green
political party
. Green! is the smallest Flemish
party with a representation in the federal, regional or European parliament.
Agalev in the 1970s. Core values of this social movement were quiet
, solidarity and soberness
. This movement combined progressive
Catholicism
with environmentalism
. It sought to spread environmental consciousness first on a small scale, but since 1973 it took action to protect the environment and promote environmental consciousness. In the 1974
and 1976 elections Agalev supported several candidates from traditional parties, these however soon forgot the promises they made. In 1977 the movement entered the elections in several municipalities not to gain seats, but to promote its ideals.
. Although the party won 2.3% of the votes, it won no seats.
In the 1981 election
the party won 4% of vote and two seats in the Chamber of Representatives
and one in the Senate
. Ecolo
, the Walloon green party also won two seats in the Chamber and three seats in the Senate. The political party Agalev was officially founded in 1982. It remained separate of the social movement. Prominent members of the movement Agalev, such as founder Versteylen chose not to join the political party Agalev. In the municipal elections of 1982 the party performed particularly well winning more than 10% in several municipalities. In its first periods in parliament the party functioned as a protest
party forcing the other parties to take more action against environmental pollution and Third World poverty. The party campaigned on specific environmental issues, such as local anti-nuclear energy protests
.
The party won two additional seats in the 1985 elections
, two additional seats in 1987
and one in 1991
: in that year it won seven seats in parliament. Agalev had become a serious political partner for other parties. In 1992 Agalev was asked to support a constitutional change called the Sint-Michiels accords, which would make Belgium a federation. Agalev gave its support in exchange of a tax on bottles, the first ecotax
in Belgium. In the 1995
the party campaigned on a clean hands theme, after a series of political scandals was revealed. The party however lost two seats.
Agalev and its Walloon sister party Ecolo
performed exceptionally well. A scandal surrounding dioxine in for consumption chickens just before the elections, played an important role in the party's performance. The party won 7,0% of vote and nearly doubled its seats from 5 to 9. The Greens joined the first cabinet Verhofstadt
. The cabinet further consisted of the liberal Flemish Liberals and Democrats
(VLD) and Reformist Movement
(MR) and the socialist Different Socialist Party (SP.A) and Parti Socialiste
(PS). The cabinet was called Purple-Green
cabinet or the Rainbow cabinet, because of the many political colours in the coalition. Agalev supplied two ministers, Magda Aelvoet
who became vice-prime minister and minister for Public Health
and the Environment
, and Eddy Boutmans who became minister for Development Cooperation. The party also joined the Flemish Government
, which was composed of the same Flemish parties Agalev, SP.A and VLD. Mieke Vogels
became the Flemish minister for Wellbeing and Development Cooperation and Vera Dua became minister for Agriculture
and the Environment.
On the national level, the greens, both Ecolo and Agalev were able to enact legislation on several key green issues: the cabinet decided to opt out of nuclear energy
, it opened marriage to homosexuals, legalized several thousands of illegal foreigners, enacted an anti-discrimination law and promised to in time spend 0,7% of the national income on development aid
. On the Flemish level organic agriculture was promoted, people with handicaps got personal budgets and a system of time credits was enacted to allow people to combine work, care and free time better. The party however faced several crises. Magda Aelvoet left the federal cabinet in August 2002 over a cabinet decision to trade arms
with Nepal
, which was at civil war at the time. She was replaced by Jef Tavernier
. The Ecolo minister for mobility Isabelle Durant
left the cabinet just before the elections over the issue of nighttime airplane flights over Brussels. Finally the party voted in favour of a new election law which enacted a 5% Election threshold
in both the Senate and the Chamber.
The 2003 federal election formed a turning point for the party. The party was reduced to 2,6% of the vote, well below the 5% limit and the party lost its seats in the Chamber and Senate. In response to the election results the Flemish ministers Mieke Vogels and Vera Dua stepped down. They were replaced by Adelheid Byttebier and Ludo Sannen respectively. The party renewed is its political profile and made some important strategic decisions. Agalev would continue as an independent Flemish progressive Green party. The party congress rejected the proposal of Agalev-Limburg
to form a federal cartel
with the SP.A and Spirit. The party also ruled out any participation in the future Flemish Government. The party would allow provincial and municipal cartels. The party changed its name to Groen!. The party changed the function of political secretary to party president, bringing the party more in line with other Belgian parties. Vera Dua
became the first party president. The decision to continue separately led to considerable upheaval within the party, several prominent members, such as Antwerpen councillor Fauzaya Talhaoui and Flemish minister Sannen left the party and joined either Spirit
or SP.A. Sannen was replaced as minister by Tavernier.
Before the 2004 elections
Dua announced that if the party was supported by less than 280.000 votes, the independent green political project would end. The party gained enough support to meet this limit, although it lost half of it seats in Flanders compared to the 2000 elections. The party won seats in every provincial district except Limburg, where the support to cooperate with SP.A and Spirit was greatest.
In the 10 June 2007 federal election
, the party regained representation in both the Chamber and the Senate. It got 265,828 votes (4% of total) and four seats.
The regional (for Flemish Parliament) and European elections of June 2009 were generally devoted to promote the concept of a green economy as an answer to the national and global economic crisis. The results of the election were below the expected and stranded on a status quo. Chairwoman Mieke Vogels
chose to give up her presidency and was succeeded by Wouter Van Besien
in October 2009.
s which are more sustainable. When the party registered at the election authority, it was forced to supply a meaning for each initial. The party thus ran under the name Anders Gaan Arbeiden, Leven, En Vrijen (English: going to work, live and have sex differently), improvised and not entirely serious, but legally correct.
After the 2003 election defeat the party renewed its political profile. This also involved a name change to Groen! (English: Green!). The name conveyed a closer alliance to the worldwide green movement
with the word green and an independent and positive nature with exclamation mark.
, the three core values of Agalev were ecology
, peace
and participatory democracy
. In the early years the party specifically sought to overcome traditional cleavages
(liberal-socialist, Catholic-secular and Flemish-Belgian). Since the 1980s the ideals of diversity
and social justice
have also taken a prominent role. The party now places itself explicitly in the left/progressive camp. In its current political program it connected these three values by the concept of quality of life
.
: Bart Staes. The Green! delegation is part of the European Greens–European Free Alliance
-group in the European Parliament. Together with the two MEPs of the Dutch GreenLeft
he forms one transnational delegation.
and Ghent
.
Green!'s support is distributed in the following way between the electoral districts in the 2007 general election:
, which is open to all members. The party has a relatively decentralized organization with strong municipal branches and a relatively small national organization. For a long time the party did not have a party president who set out the political strategy, but a party secretary with far less power. In 2003 the party changed this situation.
In contrast to other parties Green! MPs face relatively strong regulation: the party does not allow to multiple offices per person, while it is traditional for Belgian MPs to be both mayor of municipality and federal MP for instance; furthermore MPs are not allowed to run for more than two terms; to ensure gender equality
every second candidate on the party list has to be female; finally a high percentage of the income of MPs is taxed by the party.
For Belgian standards Green! has relatively little members. It ranges from 2,000 to 6,500. On average this is only 1% of the Green! voters. Traditionally Belgian parties have about 10% of their voter-base as member.
The party's youth organization, Young Green!
(earlier Young Agalev) has grown out of local groups of young Groen members, active since the late eighties and early nineties. These local groups started coordinated action in 1996. In 1998 Jong Groen was officially founded.
and the Global Greens
. The party hosted the founding congress of the European Federation of Green Parties.
cartel
. It was asked to join them in 2003, but it refused. Furthermore, the party has maintained good relations with its Walloon sister party, Ecolo
.
which has also been in government although more successfully.
Politics of Belgium
Politics of Belgium takes place in a framework of a federal, parliamentary, representative democratic, constitutional monarchy, whereby the King of the Belgians is the Head of State and the Prime Minister of Belgium is the head of government in a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by...
green
Green politics
Green politics is a political ideology that aims for the creation of an ecologically sustainable society rooted in environmentalism, social liberalism, and grassroots democracy...
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...
. Green! is the smallest Flemish
Politics of Flanders
Flanders is both a cultural community and an economic region within the Belgian state, and has significant autonomy.Historically, the contemporary Flemish community grew out of the Catholic southern part of the medieval XVII provinces of the Low Countries. The contemporary Belgian Flanders area...
party with a representation in the federal, regional or European parliament.
Before 1979
Many of the founders of political party Agalev came from or were inspired by the social movement Agalev. This movement was founded by the Jesuit Luc Versteylen, who had founded the environmental movementEnvironmental movement
The environmental movement, a term that includes the conservation and green politics, is a diverse scientific, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues....
Agalev in the 1970s. Core values of this social movement were quiet
Silence
Silence is the relative or total lack of audible sound. By analogy, the word silence may also refer to any absence of communication, even in media other than speech....
, solidarity and soberness
Sobriety
Sobriety is the condition of not having any measurable levels, or effects from, alcohol or other drugs that alter ones mood or behaviors. According to WHO "Lexicon of alcohol and drug terms..." sobriety is continued abstinence from alcohol and psychoactive drug use...
. This movement combined progressive
Progressive Christianity
Progressive Christianity is the name given to a movement within contemporary Christianity characterized by willingness to question tradition, acceptance of human diversity with a strong emphasis on social justice or care for the poor and the oppressed and environmental stewardship of the Earth...
Catholicism
Roman Catholicism in Belgium
The Belgian Catholic Church, part of the global Roman Catholic Church, is under the spiritual leadership of the Pope, the curia in Rome and the Conference of Belgian Bishops.-Dioceses:...
with environmentalism
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
. It sought to spread environmental consciousness first on a small scale, but since 1973 it took action to protect the environment and promote environmental consciousness. In the 1974
Belgian general election, 1974
General elections were held in Belgium on 10 March 1974. The Belgian Socialist Party emerged as the largest faction in the Chamber of Representatives with 59 of the 212 seats. Voter turnout was 90.3%.-Chamber of Deputies:-Senate:...
and 1976 elections Agalev supported several candidates from traditional parties, these however soon forgot the promises they made. In 1977 the movement entered the elections in several municipalities not to gain seats, but to promote its ideals.
1979-1999
In reaction to these broken promises, a debate erupted within Agalev on whether to set up a political party or to remain independent of politics. In the same year the party contested several municipal elections to no avail. A national level Agalev Working Group was founded to coordinate the new party. It also set up a separate association which could enter in elections. It participated in the 1979 European electionsEuropean Parliament election, 1979
The 1979 European elections were parliamentary elections held across all 9 European Community member states. They were the first European elections to be held, allowing citizens to elect 410 MEPs to the European Parliament, and also the first international election in history.Seats in the...
. Although the party won 2.3% of the votes, it won no seats.
In the 1981 election
Belgian general election, 1981
General elections were held in Belgium on 8 November 1981. The Christian People's Party emerged as the largest party, with 43 of the 212 seats in the Chamber of Representatives. Voter turnout was 94.5% in the Chamber election and 94.6% in the Senate election....
the party won 4% of vote and two seats in the Chamber of Representatives
Belgian Chamber of People's Representatives
The Belgian Chamber of Representatives is one of the two chambers in the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Senate...
and one 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:...
. Ecolo
Ecolo
Ecolo is a French-speaking Belgian green political party in Wallonia, Brussels and the German-speaking Community of Belgium...
, the Walloon green party also won two seats in the Chamber and three seats in the Senate. The political party Agalev was officially founded in 1982. It remained separate of the social movement. Prominent members of the movement Agalev, such as founder Versteylen chose not to join the political party Agalev. In the municipal elections of 1982 the party performed particularly well winning more than 10% in several municipalities. In its first periods in parliament the party functioned as a protest
Protest
A protest is an expression of objection, by words or by actions, to particular events, policies or situations. Protests can take many different forms, from individual statements to mass demonstrations...
party forcing the other parties to take more action against environmental pollution and Third World poverty. The party campaigned on specific environmental issues, such as local anti-nuclear energy protests
Nuclear power debate
The nuclear power debate is about the controversy which has surrounded the deployment and use of nuclear fission reactors to generate electricity from nuclear fuel for civilian purposes...
.
The party won two additional seats in the 1985 elections
Belgian general election, 1985
The 13 October 1985 Belgian general elections was a Belgian election for the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and Belgian Senate....
, two additional seats in 1987
Belgian general election, 1987
The 13 December 1987 Belgian general elections was a Belgian election for the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and Belgian Senate....
and one in 1991
Belgian general election, 1991
The 24 November 1991 Belgian general elections was a Belgian election for the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and Belgian Senate.The results represented a big loss for the majority parties . The Vlaams Blok on the other hand had a very big gain....
: in that year it won seven seats in parliament. Agalev had become a serious political partner for other parties. In 1992 Agalev was asked to support a constitutional change called the Sint-Michiels accords, which would make Belgium a federation. Agalev gave its support in exchange of a tax on bottles, the first ecotax
Ecotax
Ecotax refers to taxes intended to promote ecologically sustainable activities via economic incentives. Such a policy can complement or avert the need for regulatory approaches. Often, an ecotax policy proposal may attempt to maintain overall tax revenue by proportionately reducing other taxes...
in Belgium. In the 1995
Belgian general election, 1995
The 21 May 1995 Belgian general elections was a Belgian election for the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and Belgian Senate. The Christian People's Party won the elections, and Jean-Luc Dehaene continued as Prime Minister.-Senate:...
the party campaigned on a clean hands theme, after a series of political scandals was revealed. The party however lost two seats.
1999-now
In the 1999 electionsBelgian general election, 1999
The June 13, 1999 Belgian general elections was a Belgian election for the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and Belgian Senate. The federal general elections were held on the same day as the European elections and the regional elections. The Flemish Liberals and Democrats won the elections.The...
Agalev and its Walloon sister party Ecolo
Ecolo
Ecolo is a French-speaking Belgian green political party in Wallonia, Brussels and the German-speaking Community of Belgium...
performed exceptionally well. A scandal surrounding dioxine in for consumption chickens just before the elections, played an important role in the party's performance. The party won 7,0% of vote and nearly doubled its seats from 5 to 9. The Greens joined the first cabinet 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 :...
. The cabinet further consisted of the liberal Flemish Liberals and Democrats
Flemish Liberals and Democrats
' , commonly known as Open VLD and also simply as the VLD, is a Flemish liberal political party in Belgium, created in 1992 from the former Party for Freedom and Progress and a few other politicians from other parties. The party led the government for three cabinets under Guy Verhofstadt from 1999...
(VLD) and Reformist Movement
Reformist Movement
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...
(MR) and the socialist Different Socialist Party (SP.A) and Parti Socialiste
Socialist Party (francophone Belgium)
The Socialist Party is a Francophone social-democratic political party in Belgium. As of the 2010 elections, it is the second largest party in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and the largest Francophone party...
(PS). The cabinet was called Purple-Green
Purple (government)
Purple is a common term in politics for governments or other political entities consisting of parties that have red and blue as their political colours...
cabinet or the Rainbow cabinet, because of the many political colours in the coalition. Agalev supplied two ministers, Magda Aelvoet
Magda Aelvoet
Magdalena Godelieve Hilda "Magda" Aelvoet is a Belgian, Flemish politician. She is a former president of the Greens in the European Parliament....
who became vice-prime minister and minister for Public Health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
and the Environment
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
, and Eddy Boutmans who became minister for Development Cooperation. The party also joined the Flemish Government
Flemish government
The Flemish Government is the executive branch of the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region. It consists of up to a maximum of eleven ministers, chosen by the Flemish Parliament...
, which was composed of the same Flemish parties Agalev, SP.A and VLD. Mieke Vogels
Mieke Vogels
Maria Bertha Charlotte Vogels is a Flemish politician in the environmentalist party Groen!.-Biography:In 1978, Vogels got a Master's degree in Political and Social Sciences at the University Institution Antwerp .-Political career:* 1985 - 1995 : Member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives*...
became the Flemish minister for Wellbeing and Development Cooperation and Vera Dua became minister for Agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
and the Environment.
On the national level, the greens, both Ecolo and Agalev were able to enact legislation on several key green issues: the cabinet decided to opt out of nuclear energy
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
, it opened marriage to homosexuals, legalized several thousands of illegal foreigners, enacted an anti-discrimination law and promised to in time spend 0,7% of the national income on development aid
Development aid
Development aid or development cooperation is aid given by governments and other agencies to support the economic, environmental, social and political development of developing countries.It is distinguished...
. On the Flemish level organic agriculture was promoted, people with handicaps got personal budgets and a system of time credits was enacted to allow people to combine work, care and free time better. The party however faced several crises. Magda Aelvoet left the federal cabinet in August 2002 over a cabinet decision to trade arms
Arms industry
The arms industry is a global industry and business which manufactures and sells weapons and military technology and equipment. It comprises government and commercial industry involved in research, development, production, and service of military material, equipment and facilities...
with Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, which was at civil war at the time. She was replaced by Jef Tavernier
Jef Tavernier
Jef Tavernier is a Belgian politican. He was once member of the party Green! .-Career:*24/11/1991 – 12/04/1995: Senator [directly elected]...
. The Ecolo minister for mobility Isabelle Durant
Isabelle Durant
Isabelle A.J. Durant is a Belgian politician, member of the Ecolo party. On 15 September, 2010 Durant supported the new initiative Spinelli Group in the European Parliament, which was founded to reinvigorate the strive for federalisation of the European Union...
left the cabinet just before the elections over the issue of nighttime airplane flights over Brussels. Finally the party voted in favour of a new election law which enacted a 5% Election threshold
Election threshold
In party-list proportional representation systems, an election threshold is a clause that stipulates that a party must receive a minimum percentage of votes, either nationally or within a particular district, to obtain any seats in the parliament...
in both the Senate and the Chamber.
The 2003 federal election formed a turning point for the party. The party was reduced to 2,6% of the vote, well below the 5% limit and the party lost its seats in the Chamber and Senate. In response to the election results the Flemish ministers Mieke Vogels and Vera Dua stepped down. They were replaced by Adelheid Byttebier and Ludo Sannen respectively. The party renewed is its political profile and made some important strategic decisions. Agalev would continue as an independent Flemish progressive Green party. The party congress rejected the proposal of Agalev-Limburg
Limburg (Belgium)
Limburg is the easternmost province of modern Flanders, which is one of the three main political and cultural sub-divisions of modern Belgium. It is located west of the river Meuse . It borders on the Dutch provinces of North Brabant and Limburg and the Belgian provinces of Liège, Flemish Brabant...
to form a federal cartel
Kartel
A kartel is the Dutch term for an electoral alliance between two or more parties in Belgium.In a system of proportional representation in which the country is divided in multiple electoral districts, such as Belgium the threshold to obtain one seat can be very high , which also favours larger parties...
with the SP.A and Spirit. The party also ruled out any participation in the future Flemish Government. The party would allow provincial and municipal cartels. The party changed its name to Groen!. The party changed the function of political secretary to party president, bringing the party more in line with other Belgian parties. Vera Dua
Vera Dua
Vera Agnes Roger Dua was the Party Chair of the Flemish green party Groen! between 2003 and 2007. She graduated in 1975 as agricultural engineer and attained a PhD in agricultural science 11 years later....
became the first party president. The decision to continue separately led to considerable upheaval within the party, several prominent members, such as Antwerpen councillor Fauzaya Talhaoui and Flemish minister Sannen left the party and joined either Spirit
Spirit (Belgium)
' was a Belgian Flemish political party formed after dissolution of the moderate nationalist People's Union party. Prior to 19 April 2008 it was known as Spirit, and intermediately as Flemish Progressives...
or SP.A. Sannen was replaced as minister by Tavernier.
Before the 2004 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...
Dua announced that if the party was supported by less than 280.000 votes, the independent green political project would end. The party gained enough support to meet this limit, although it lost half of it seats in Flanders compared to the 2000 elections. The party won seats in every provincial district except Limburg, where the support to cooperate with SP.A and Spirit was greatest.
In the 10 June 2007 federal 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 party regained representation in both the Chamber and the Senate. It got 265,828 votes (4% of total) and four seats.
The regional (for Flemish Parliament) and European elections of June 2009 were generally devoted to promote the concept of a green economy as an answer to the national and global economic crisis. The results of the election were below the expected and stranded on a status quo. Chairwoman Mieke Vogels
Mieke Vogels
Maria Bertha Charlotte Vogels is a Flemish politician in the environmentalist party Groen!.-Biography:In 1978, Vogels got a Master's degree in Political and Social Sciences at the University Institution Antwerp .-Political career:* 1985 - 1995 : Member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives*...
chose to give up her presidency and was succeeded by Wouter Van Besien
Wouter Van Besien
Wouter Van Besien is a Belgian politician. As from the 25. October 2009, he is the chairman of the ecologist party Groen!....
in October 2009.
2010 federal election
| Electoral arrondissement | Main candidate | |
|---|---|---|
| Chamber of Representatives | Antwerp | Meyrem Almaci Meyrem Almaci Meyrem Almaci is a Belgian politician and member of the ecological party Groen!. On 10 June 2007, she was elected into the Belgian Chamber of Representatives for the first time... |
| 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... |
Tinne Van der Straeten Tinne Van der Straeten Tinne Van der Straeten is a Flemish politician. She is member of the party Groen!. From 2007 till 2010, she was a representative in the Belgian Chamber for the electoral arrondissement Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde... |
|
| East Flanders | Stefaan Van Hecke Stefaan Van Hecke Stefaan Van Hecke is a Belgian politician. He is member of the Belgium parliament for the ecological party Groen!. He was first elected in June 2007.-Biography:... |
|
| Leuven | Eva Brems Eva Brems Eva Brems is a Belgian university professor, human rights defender and politician. She is a senior lecturer in human rights and non-Western law at Ghent University. Besides her academic engagements, Brems has also been politically active. From 2006 until 2010, she was the president of the Flemish... |
|
| Limburg | Toon Hermans | |
| West Flanders | Wouter De Vriendt Wouter De Vriendt Wouter De Vriendt is a Belgian politician, and member of Groen!. He is currently a member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives.-Biography:De Vriendt got a master's degree in Political science... |
|
| 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:... |
Freya Piryns Freya Piryns Freya Piryns is a Belgian politician and a member of Groen!. She was elected as a member of the Belgian Senate in 2007.-Timeline:*10/06/2007 – : Senator [directly elected] -Notes:... |
|
Name
The party was founded as Agalev which meant Anders Gaan Leven (English: to start living differently). This conveyed the green message that humans need to choose alternative lifestyleAlternative lifestyle
An alternative lifestyle is a lifestyle generally perceived to be outside the cultural norm. Usually, but not always, it implies an affinity or identification within some matching subculture...
s which are more sustainable. When the party registered at the election authority, it was forced to supply a meaning for each initial. The party thus ran under the name Anders Gaan Arbeiden, Leven, En Vrijen (English: going to work, live and have sex differently), improvised and not entirely serious, but legally correct.
After the 2003 election defeat the party renewed its political profile. This also involved a name change to Groen! (English: Green!). The name conveyed a closer alliance to the worldwide green movement
Worldwide green parties
A Green party or ecologist party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of Green politics. These principles usually include social justice, reliance on grassroots democracy, nonviolence, and an emphasis on environmentalism...
with the word green and an independent and positive nature with exclamation mark.
Ideology and issues
As a traditional green partyGreen politics
Green politics is a political ideology that aims for the creation of an ecologically sustainable society rooted in environmentalism, social liberalism, and grassroots democracy...
, the three core values of Agalev were ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
, peace
Peace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
and participatory democracy
Participatory democracy
Participatory Democracy, also known as Deliberative Democracy, Direct Democracy and Real Democracy , is a process where political decisions are made directly by regular people...
. In the early years the party specifically sought to overcome traditional cleavages
Cleavage (politics)
Cleavage in political science is a concept used in voting analysis and is the division of voters into voting blocs.The preliminary assumption is that voters don’t come in predefined groups of pros and cons for or against a certain subject. Ballot analysis assumes that voters opt for a certain...
(liberal-socialist, Catholic-secular and Flemish-Belgian). Since the 1980s the ideals of diversity
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
and social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
have also taken a prominent role. The party now places itself explicitly in the left/progressive camp. In its current political program it connected these three values by the concept of quality of life
Quality of life
The term quality of life is used to evaluate the general well-being of individuals and societies. The term is used in a wide range of contexts, including the fields of international development, healthcare, and politics. Quality of life should not be confused with the concept of standard of...
.
Representation
In this table the election results of Agalev/Green! in House of Representatives, Senate and European elections is represented, as well as the results of regional elections for Flanders and Brussels. The party's political leadership is represented as well. If Green! was part of the governing federal coalition, then its minister is listed.| Year | Belgian Chamber Belgian Chamber of People's Representatives The Belgian Chamber of Representatives is one of the two chambers in the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Senate... |
Belgian 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:... |
European Parliament European Parliament The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world... |
Flemish Parliament Flemish Parliament The Flemish Parliament constitutes the legislative power in Flanders, for matters which fall within the competence of Flanders, both as a geographic region and a cultural community of Belgium The Flemish Parliament (Dutch: , and formerly called Flemish Council or Vlaamse Raad) constitutes the... |
Brussels Parliament Brussels Parliament The Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region , is the governing body of the Brussels-Capital Region, one of the three regions of Belgium... |
Federal Cabinet Cabinet (government) A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :... |
Party president* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | extra-parliamentary | unknown |
| 1980 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | extra-parliamentary | unknown |
| 1981 Belgian general election, 1981 General elections were held in Belgium on 8 November 1981. The Christian People's Party emerged as the largest party, with 43 of the 212 seats in the Chamber of Representatives. Voter turnout was 94.5% in the Chamber election and 94.6% in the Senate election.... |
2 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | opposition | unknown |
| 1982 | 2 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | opposition | unknown |
| 1983 | 2 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | opposition | unknown |
| 1984 | 2 | 1 | 1 | n/a | n/a | opposition | unknown |
| 1985 Belgian general election, 1985 The 13 October 1985 Belgian general elections was a Belgian election for the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and Belgian Senate.... |
4 | 2 | 1 | n/a | n/a | opposition | unknown |
| 1986 | 4 | 2 | 1 | n/a | n/a | opposition | unknown |
| 1987 Belgian general election, 1987 The 13 December 1987 Belgian general elections was a Belgian election for the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and Belgian Senate.... |
6 | 3 | 1 | n/a | n/a | opposition | unknown |
| 1988 | 6 | 3 | 1 | n/a | n/a | opposition | unknown |
| 1989 | 6 | 3 | 1 | na | 1 | opposition | unknown |
| 1990 | 6 | 3 | 1 | na | 1 | opposition | unknown |
| 1991 Belgian general election, 1991 The 24 November 1991 Belgian general elections was a Belgian election for the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and Belgian Senate.The results represented a big loss for the majority parties . The Vlaams Blok on the other hand had a very big gain.... |
7 | 5 | 1 | na | 1 | opposition | unknown |
| 1992 | 7 | 5 | 1 | na | 1 | opposition | unknown |
| 1993 | 7 | 5 | 1 | na | 1 | opposition | unknown |
| 1994 | 7 | 5 | 1 | na | 1 | opposition | unknown |
| 1995 Belgian general election, 1995 The 21 May 1995 Belgian general elections was a Belgian election for the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and Belgian Senate. The Christian People's Party won the elections, and Jean-Luc Dehaene continued as Prime Minister.-Senate:... |
5 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | opposition | unknown |
| 1996 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | opposition | unknown |
| 1997 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | opposition | Jos Geysels Jos Geysels Josephus "Jos" Elisabeth A. M. Geysels is a former Belgian politician, and former Representative in the Belgian Chamber for the ecologist party Agalev for which he was party chairman... |
| 1998 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | opposition | Jos Geysels |
| 1999 Belgian general election, 1999 The June 13, 1999 Belgian general elections was a Belgian election for the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and Belgian Senate. The federal general elections were held on the same day as the European elections and the regional elections. The Flemish Liberals and Democrats won the elections.The... |
9 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 1 | Magda Aelvoet Magda Aelvoet Magdalena Godelieve Hilda "Magda" Aelvoet is a Belgian, Flemish politician. She is a former president of the Greens in the European Parliament.... |
Jos Geysels |
| 2000 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 1 | Magda Aelvoet | Jos Geysels |
| 2001 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 1 | Magda Aelvoet | Jos Geysels |
| 2002 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 1 | Magda Aelvoet | Jos Geysels |
| 2003 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 1 | extraparliamentary | Dirk Holemans |
| 2004 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... |
0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | extraparliamentary | Vera Dua Vera Dua Vera Agnes Roger Dua was the Party Chair of the Flemish green party Groen! between 2003 and 2007. She graduated in 1975 as agricultural engineer and attained a PhD in agricultural science 11 years later.... |
| 2005 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | extraparliamentary | Vera Dua |
| 2006 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | extraparliamentary | Vera Dua |
| 2007 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... |
4 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | opposition | Vera Dua |
| 2008 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | opposition | Mieke Vogels |
| 2009 Belgian regional elections, 2009 Regional elections were held in Belgium on 7 June 2009 to choose representatives in the regional councils of Flanders, Wallonia, Brussels and the German-speaking Community of Belgium... |
4 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 2 | opposition | Mieke Vogels |
| 2010 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... |
5 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 2 | opposition | Wouter Van Besien Wouter Van Besien Wouter Van Besien is a Belgian politician. As from the 25. October 2009, he is the chairman of the ecologist party Groen!.... |
Members of the European Parliament
After the 2004 European Parliament elections the party has one representative in the European ParliamentEuropean Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
: Bart Staes. The Green! delegation is part of the European Greens–European Free Alliance
European Greens–European Free Alliance
The Greens European Free Alliance is one of the parliamentary groups in the European Parliament....
-group in the European Parliament. Together with the two MEPs of the Dutch GreenLeft
GreenLeft
GreenLeft is a green political party operating in the Netherlands.GreenLeft was formed on 1 March 1989 as a merger of four left-wing political parties: the Communist Party of the Netherlands, Pacifist Socialist Party, the Political Party of Radicals and the Evangelical People's Party...
he forms one transnational delegation.
Municipal government
Green! participates in several municipal governments. The party is especially strong in university cities like LeuvenLeuven
Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...
and Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
.
Electorate
The support of Green! has strongly fluctuated recently. It draws most of its support from Flemish voters who do not feel bound to the strong social organizations and pillars. The party is strongest in urban areas with concentrated student populations like Ghent and Leuven.Green!'s support is distributed in the following way between the electoral districts in the 2007 general election:
| Province | Votes (%) 2007 | Result (seats) 2007 | Votes (%) 2011 | Result (seats) 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antwerp Antwerp (province) Antwerp is the northernmost province both of the Flemish Region, also called Flanders, and of Belgium. It borders on the Netherlands and the Belgian provinces of Limburg, Flemish Brabant and East Flanders. Its capital is Antwerp which comprises the Port of Antwerp... |
6.9% | 1 | 7.7% | 2 |
| Brussel-Halle Halle, Belgium Halle , is a Belgian city and municipality in the district Halle-Vilvoorde of the province Flemish Brabant. The city is located on the Brussels-Charleroi Canal and on the Flemish side of the language border that separates Flanders and Wallonia... -Vilvoorde Vilvoorde Vilvoorde is a Belgian municipality in the Flemish province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the city of Vilvoorde proper with its two outlying quarters of Koningslo and Houtem and the small town of Peutie... |
2.7% | 1 | 4.1% | 0 |
| Leuven Leuven Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium... |
8.2% | 0 | 9.8% | 1 |
| Limburg Limburg (Belgium) Limburg is the easternmost province of modern Flanders, which is one of the three main political and cultural sub-divisions of modern Belgium. It is located west of the river Meuse . It borders on the Dutch provinces of North Brabant and Limburg and the Belgian provinces of Liège, Flemish Brabant... |
4.1% | 0 | 4.8% | 0 |
| East Flanders East Flanders East Flanders is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Netherlands and in Belgium on the provinces of Antwerp, Flemish Brabant , of Hainaut and of West Flanders... |
7.2% | 1 | 7.4% | 1 |
| West Flanders | 5.8% | 1 | 6.3% | 1 |
Chamber of Representatives
| Election year | # of total votes | % of vote | # of seats won | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 138,575 | 2.30% | 2 | |
| 1985 | 226,758 | 3.74% | 4 ( 2) | |
| 1987 | 275,437 | 4.5% | 6 ( 2) | |
| 1991 | 299,550 | 4.9% | 7 ( 1) | |
| 1995 | 269,058 | 4.4% | 5 ( 2) | The number of seats in the chamber is reduced from 212 to 150. |
| 1999 | 434,449 | 7.00% | 9 ( 4) | |
| 2003 | 162,205 | 2.50% | 0 ( 9) | |
| 2007 | 265,828 | 3.98% | 4 ( 4) | First general election as Groen! |
| 2010 | 285,989 | 4.38% | 5 ( 1) |
Senate
| Election year | # of total votes | % of vote | # of seats won | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 121,016 | 2.03% | 1 | |
| 1985 | 229,206 | 3.82% | 2 ( 1) | |
| 1987 | 299,049 | 4.90% | 3 ( 1) | |
| 1991 | 314,360 | 5.10% | 5 ( 2) | |
| 1995 | 223,355 | 3.70% | 1 ( 4) | |
| 1999 | 438,931 | 7.08% | 3 ( 2) | |
| 2003 | 161,024 | 2.46% | 0 ( 3) | |
| 2007 | 241,151 | 3.64% | 1 ( 1) | First general election as Groen! |
| 2010 | 251,605 | 3.89% | 1 ( 0) |
Flemish Parliament
| Election year | # of total votes | % of vote | # of seats won | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 267,155 | 7.08% | 7 | |
| 1999 | 451,361 | 11.62% | 12 ( 5) | |
| 2004 | 308,898 | 7.60% | 6 ( 6) | First regional election as Groen! |
| 2009 | 278,211 | 6.77% | 7 ( 1) | |
European Parliament
| Election year | # of total votes | % of vote | # of seats won | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 77,986 | 2.33% | 0 | |
| 1984 | 246,712 | 7.08% | 1 ( 1) | |
| 1989 | 446,539 | 12.20% | 1 ( 0) | |
| 1994 | 396,198 | 10.73% | 1 ( 0) | |
| 1994 | 396,198 | 10.73% | 1 ( 0) | |
| 1999 | 464,042 | 11.98% | 2 ( 1) | |
| 2004 European Parliament election, 2004 (Belgium) Elections to the European Parliament were held in Belgium on June 13, 2004. The elections produced little overall change in the distribution of seats in the European Parliament among Belgium's many political parties. The two socialist parties improved their vote, while the Green parties lost ground... |
320,874 | 7.99% | 1 ( 1) | First European election as Groen! |
| 2009 | 322,149 | 7.90% | 1 ( 0) | |
Organizational structure
The highest organ of Green! is the party congressParty Congress
A party congress is a general conference of a political party. The congress is attended by delegates who represent the party membership. In most parties the party congress is the highest decision making body of the organisation and elects the party's leadership bodies such as the National Executive...
, which is open to all members. The party has a relatively decentralized organization with strong municipal branches and a relatively small national organization. For a long time the party did not have a party president who set out the political strategy, but a party secretary with far less power. In 2003 the party changed this situation.
In contrast to other parties Green! MPs face relatively strong regulation: the party does not allow to multiple offices per person, while it is traditional for Belgian MPs to be both mayor of municipality and federal MP for instance; furthermore MPs are not allowed to run for more than two terms; to ensure gender equality
Gender equality
Gender equality is the goal of the equality of the genders, stemming from a belief in the injustice of myriad forms of gender inequality.- Concept :...
every second candidate on the party list has to be female; finally a high percentage of the income of MPs is taxed by the party.
For Belgian standards Green! has relatively little members. It ranges from 2,000 to 6,500. On average this is only 1% of the Green! voters. Traditionally Belgian parties have about 10% of their voter-base as member.
The party's youth organization, Young Green!
Young Green!
Jong Groen! is the youth organization of Groen!, the Green party in Flanders and Brussels.-Origins:Jong Groen has grown out of local groups of young Groen members, active since the late eighties and early nineties. These local groups started coordinated action in 1996...
(earlier Young Agalev) has grown out of local groups of young Groen members, active since the late eighties and early nineties. These local groups started coordinated action in 1996. In 1998 Jong Groen was officially founded.
International organisations
Green! is a member of the European Green PartyEuropean Green Party
The European Green Party is the Green political party at European level. As such it is a federation of green parties in Europe.-History:...
and the Global Greens
Global Greens
The Global Greens is a global network of Green parties and political movements. It was founded in 2001 in Canberra, Australia at the First Global Greens Congress, where the Global Green Charter was approved. The Second Global Greens Congress was held in 2008 in Sao Paolo, Brazil...
. The party hosted the founding congress of the European Federation of Green Parties.
Relationships to social organisations
Green! is ideologically and historically linked to the environmental movement Agalev, which was founded by the Jesuit Luc Versteylen. The party and the social movement are separate entities. Green! still has strong contacts with environmental organizations. It has not developed a pillar of social organizations around it as other parties have.Relationships to other parties
The party has relatively good relations with the SP.A-SPIRITSP.A-Spirit
The SP.a-SPIRIT was a Belgian electoral coalition between the Flemish parties Socialist Party Different and Spirit....
cartel
Kartel
A kartel is the Dutch term for an electoral alliance between two or more parties in Belgium.In a system of proportional representation in which the country is divided in multiple electoral districts, such as Belgium the threshold to obtain one seat can be very high , which also favours larger parties...
. It was asked to join them in 2003, but it refused. Furthermore, the party has maintained good relations with its Walloon sister party, Ecolo
Ecolo
Ecolo is a French-speaking Belgian green political party in Wallonia, Brussels and the German-speaking Community of Belgium...
.
International comparison
Internationally Groen! is comparable to the larger European Green parties, especially the German Alliance '90/The GreensAlliance '90/The Greens
Alliance '90/The Greens is a green political party in Germany, formed from the merger of the German Green Party and Alliance 90 in 1993. Its leaders are Claudia Roth and Cem Özdemir...
which has also been in government although more successfully.
See also
- EcoloEcoloEcolo is a French-speaking Belgian green political party in Wallonia, Brussels and the German-speaking Community of Belgium...
the WalloonPolitics of WalloniaThe Politics of Wallonia concern the government of Wallonia, that is the southern Region of Belgium.The capital is Namur, where are the seats of the Government of Wallonia, the Parliament of Wallonia and the Public Service of Wallonia.-Structures:...
(FrancophoneFrancophoneThe 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....
) green party - Green party
- Green politicsGreen politicsGreen politics is a political ideology that aims for the creation of an ecologically sustainable society rooted in environmentalism, social liberalism, and grassroots democracy...
- List of environmental organizations