Belgium Politics

Full name: Kingdom of Belgium

Population: 10.7 million (UN, 2010)

Capital: Brussels

Area: 30,528 sq km (11,787 sq miles)

Major languages: Dutch, French, German

Major religion: Christianity

Life expectancy: 77 years (men), 83 years (women) (UN)

Monetary unit: 1 euro = 100 cents

Main exports: Machinery and electrical equipment, chemicals, vehicles, metals, diamonds

GNI per capita: US $45,910 (World Bank, 2010)

Internet domain: .be

International dialling code: +32

In Belgium, all important political parties are either "Dutch-speaking" or "French-speaking" (aside from 1 German speaking party). Political parties are thus organised along community lines, especially for the two main communities. There are no representative parties active in both communities. Even in Brussels, all parties presenting candidates are either exclusively Dutch or French speaking.As such, the internal organisation of the political parties reflects a fundamental linguistic split in Belgian society.

Another important characteristic of Belgian national politics is the highly federal nature of decision making. Important decisions require both a national majority (2/3 for constitutional changes), as well as majorities in the two main language groups. On top of that, both these communities can activate 'alarm bell'-procedures, delaying changes. In addition, there are no national parties to speak of. As a result of this, Belgian decision making can be slow and expensive. On top, it tends to significantly favour the more conservative parties. Given the historically very high public expenditure, and the very strict central control over taxation, even for revenues going to regions and communities, the tendency of Belgian governments to lower taxation and especially labour charges has been limited, at least if compared to radical-liberal approaches followed by certain other countries.