Changes

In Brussels the parties have adopted a joint list to maximize votes.  Elsewhere they operate independently.

In Brussels the parties have adopted a joint list to maximize votes.  Elsewhere they operate independently.

====The Linguistic Parties====

====The Flemish Nationalist Parties====

A postwar phenomenon in Belgium was the emergence of linguistic-based parties, which were formed to defend the cultural, political, and economic interests of one of the linguistic groups or regions of Belgian society.

Growing tension between the Flemish and Francophone communities within Belgium has led to the growth of two political parties which can be classified as separatist, nationalist, and right-wing, seeking for the Flemish community to peacefully separate from Belgium. The two parties are '''Vlaams Belang''' ('''VB''', English: '''Flemish Importance''') and '''Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie''' ('''N-VA'''; English: '''New Flemish Alliance'''). In 2019 N-VA and VB had the most and third-most seats, respectively, in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, but despite this were not included in the final coalition government which was comprised of the Liberal, Socialist, and Green parties along with CD&V (the Flemish Christian Democrat party).

 

The far-right Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) is the most militant Flemish regional party, with a separatist, anti-immigration, law and order platform. The Vlaams Belang was formerly called the Vlaams Bloc, until a 2004 high court ruling confirmed a lower court verdict that the Bloc was a "racist" party. Faced with further legal problems, the Bloc disbanded and resurrected itself as the Vlaams Belang, with the same party leaders but a less radical party policy. The Vlaams Belang was the second most popular party in the 2004 regional elections, with 24% of the vote. Polls in 2007 showed the Vlaams Belang as the second or third most popular political party in Flanders, after the Christian Democrats (at about 30%), about even with the Socialists (at about 20%), and ahead of the Liberals.

 

In Wallonia, the small Francophone nationalist Front National (FN) surprised many political pundits by gaining enough votes in the May 2003 federal election to survive the new 5% cutoff limit for votes in any precinct required to enter Parliament. FN retained its 1 Chamber seat and gained 2 new Senate seats.

 

The now-defunct Volksunie Party (VU) was the most militant Flemish regional party in Parliament in the 1950s and 1960s, drawing nearly one-quarter of Belgium's Dutch-speaking electorate at the height of its popularity. However, as much of the VU's nationalist agenda was realized through subsequent Constitutional reforms that saw the devolution of significant power to the Regions, the VU suffered severe setbacks in more recent elections, winning only 8 seats in the 150-seat Chamber in 1999. In 2001, Volksunie splintered into a traditional Flemish nationalist faction, the NVA (currently in alliance with the CD&V since before the 2004 regional election), and a more liberal faction, Spirit (in an electoral alliance with the Flemish Socialist Party since before the 2003 federal election).

==Labor Unions==  

==Labor Unions==