Forming a government

Direct elections occur for the European Parliament, the Chamber of Representatives, the Parliaments of the Regions, the Parliaments of the Communities, and the provincial and municipal councils. Voting is mandatory (except now in Flanders, more info here), and all elections use proportional representation, which generally requires coalition governments.

Decisions, decisions

To make things easier, Belgium only holds direct elections for their legislative branches of government. In other words, Belgians cast their vote to elect members of:

• The Chamber of Representatives (Federal Government)
• The Parliament of the Regions and Communities
• Provincial and municipal councils

Belgians and other legal Belgium residents also vote for members of the European Parliament. This is where easy stops and complexities creep in because we are, after all, in Belgium, and we all love a good puzzle in this country. One minor exception in this setup is the Parliament of the French Community, which is not elected but formed out of the elected members of the Walloon Parliament and French-speaking members of the Brussels-Capital Parliament.

Showing up to vote for Federal, Regional, and European elections is mandatory in Belgium - whether you cast a vote after registering at the polling station is something else. As of the 2024 elections, the provincial and municipal vote is not compulsory in Flanders, but considering the power these levels of government hold on our everyday lives, it's arguably a crucial election.

A government is born

Once the elections take place, now the fun begins. Being a multi-party, proportional representation electoral system, political parties win seats based on the proportion of votes they receive. That means no one party will gain a majority of votes, so they need to work together to form a government.

Forming the Federal Government

Here's the abridged version of what happens at the Federal level after the elections:

1. The King meets with the leaders of political parties to gather their views and assess possible coalitions. He appoints a senior political figure who explores possible alliances between parties and identifies critical issues that could form the basis of a government agreement.
2. The King then appoints a formateur, usually the leader of the political party that achieved the most significant gains or the greatest number of seats in the parliamentary elections. This person is responsible for negotiating with political parties to create a majority coalition and officially forming a government.
3. Coalition negotiations begin. This coalition of multiple parties must be formed to command a majority in the Chamber of Representatives. The coalition must include Dutch-speaking and French-speaking parties to ensure the linguistic balance is respected. They negotiate a government agreement (regeerakkoord) that outlines the policy agenda for the government's term.
4. Once the coalition is formed, the Prime Minister (the formateur in the coalition negotiations) presents the new government, which includes the list of new ministers and its policy program, to the Chamber of Representatives. They must win a vote of confidence to officially take office.
5. After the vote of confidence, the King officially appoints the Prime Minister and their ministers

Our elected officials need to jump through a few hoops before an actual government is formed, but if all goes well, it's pretty straightforward and ensures appropriate representation. This is Belgium, of course, and complexity here is almost an art form. Step 3 in itself can be quite an excruciatingly long process. Emphasis on long. Historically, the linguistic and regional divides have caused significant conflict and controversy in these government formation negotiations. For the 2010 election, Belgium was awarded the Guinness World Record for the longest time without a government in peacetime after elections were held. It took 541 days before a new government was appointed.

Forming the Regional and Community governments

Forming Regional and Community governments works very similarly to what happens at the Federal level but without the involvement of the King.

1. Executives are formed through negotiations in regional or community parliaments.
2. Coalition governments are agreed upon by political parties in the respective Region or Community.
3. The minister-president and ministers are appointed after receiving a vote of confidence from the Regional/Community parliament.

Also similar to what happens at the Federal level, the longest part of the process is the coalition negotiations; however, because this part of the process is limited to the geographic and linguistic borders of the Regions and Communities respectively, a layer of complexity is removed and government formation happens much faster. Most of the debate and conversation within the Regions and Communities revolve around the ideologies and places in the political spectrum (left and right) of the political parties.

While government formation is faster at the Regional and Community levels, it is important to note that given the level of autonomy these governments have in the Belgian political structure, their composition and policies largely influence and fuel the hurdles around the formation of the Federal Government. Separatist movements, particularly within Flanders, have gained quite some traction in the past few years.

Forming the provincial and municipal governments

One of the reasons a country like Belgium can function without a Federal Government for long periods is largely thanks to the power of the provincial and municipal governments.

Provincial Government

1. The elected Provincial council selects a group of Deputies to form the Provincial Executive Committee. These Deputies manage the day-to-day affairs of the province.
2. The Governor is the head of the provincial executive, but unlike Deputies, the Governor is not elected directly by the Provincial Council. The Regional government, with approval from the Federal Government, appoints the Governor.

Municipal Government

1. The elected Municipal Council will have direct influence on the selection of all members of the municipal executive.
2. The Mayor (burgemeester) is usually the leader of the largest party or coalition in the Municipal Council, and they are appointed by the Regional government based on the recommendation of the Municipal Council.
3. The Municipal Council also selects a team of Aldermen (schepenen), who, together with the Mayor, form the College of the Mayor and Aldermen (schepenencollege), who manage the day-to-day affairs of the municipality.