Looking ahead: The road to reinvention for Belgium’s struggling political parties

23 December 2024

Belgium’s 2024 elections exposed significant challenges for several political parties, from the Flemish liberals to the francophone socialists. To tackle these setbacks, a strategic reinvention and a reconnection with the voters is needed. It will require bold leadership, internal reforms and a stronger focus on contemporary issues.

2024 was a pivotal election year for Belgium, with voters going to the polls twice. In June, they chose representatives for the federal and regional parliaments, as well as members of the European Parliament, while the October elections decided municipal and provincial councils.

These back-to-back elections - and particularly the June one - tested the resilience of Belgium’s political landscape and delivered sobering results for several parties.

In Flanders, liberals Open VLD and green party Groen faced humiliating losses, raising urgent questions about their relevance and strategy. In Wallonia, liberals MR dealt a significant blow to the dominant socialist party PS, while the greens struggled to maintain ground across the board.

For these parties, survival will require a thorough reinvention. The challenges ahead are significant, and the path to recovery will demand bold leadership and vision.

Uncompromising liberals

After 25 years of uninterruptedly co-governing the country, Open VLD, the party of outgoing prime minister Alexander De Croo, suffered an embarrassing electoral defeat, a clear signal that the tanker has to be turned. Leader Tom Ongena’s resignation and the appointment of Eva De Bleeker could be the start of a new story for the once-powerful party.

However, the new leader can expect tough challenges. Internally, De Bleeker must address the image of Open VLD as a party dominated by mandate seekers and long-standing power brokers.

Her victory was partly based on her tough stance against the establishment of the party, which she accused of favouritism. However, many of the same figures she criticised remain influential in the party’s leadership.

Balancing act

Building unity while fostering renewal will be a delicate balancing act. The risk of factionalism remains high unless she can bring everyone into the fold and establish a clear vision for the party’s future.

On the policy front, De Bleeker has promised a radical overhaul of the party’s platform. She is aiming to reassert a classic, right-leaning liberal agenda focused on economic freedom, individual responsibility and a smaller role for government.

Yet simply rewriting the playbook may not resonate with voters. Tangible solutions to contemporary issues will be needed. After years in government, Open VLD has lost its ideological sharpness and has often appeared as a party of compromise rather than conviction.

To reconnect with its base and attract new supporters, the party will need to find a balance between traditional liberal principles and new solutions to issues like affordable housing, energy policy and social mobility.

The green story

Groen, and its francophone sister party, Ecolo, also faces a pivotal moment. The party is going through internal and external challenges at a time when its core mission should resonate louder than ever.

Despite the urgency of the climate crisis and growing public mobilisation around environmental issues, through climate marches and COP 29, the party has struggled to translate this momentum into electoral success. Recent defeats in both parliamentary and local elections have exposed vulnerabilities in its strategy, messaging and ability to connect with a broader audience.

One of Groen’s fundamental challenges lies in bridging the gap between its environmental ideals and the realities of political compromise.

Internal disputes

Critics, both within and outside the party, argue that Groen has become too much like traditional political organisations by focusing on power dynamics and internal disputes rather than bold, transformative solutions. The party has also narrowed its focus too much, sometimes alienating potential allies and voters who share its values but feel excluded by its approach.

Groen’s leadership must now confront a crucial question: how to reclaim the party’s identity as a values-driven movement while building the political strength necessary to lead?

The appointment of a new leader is the first step in Groen’s journey to recovery. By selecting Bart Dhondt, the party has opted for a relatively unknown but determined leader who has vowed to shift Groen out of its defensive stance and position it as a leading voice in progressive politics.

Dhondt describes himself as a man of dialogue: pragmatic rather than alarmist, constructive rather than combative. The real challenge, however, lies in whether his conciliatory approach can unite the party’s more radical factions on both the left and the right to ensure a cohesive vision for the party and the future.

Socialist setback

On the other side of the language border, it is socialist party PS that will have to find itself again. While the election losses were not catastrophic, they marked the third consecutive setback for the party.

The traditional political stereotype of a left-wing Wallonia and Brussels contrasted with a right-leaning Flanders was disrupted by the strong performances of MR and Les Engagés. This suggests that the socialist narrative, once a dominant force in these regions, is no longer as compelling as it once was.

To address these challenges, PS leader Paul Magnette has announced a “refoundation” of the party, a deep introspection aimed at rebuilding the party’s core identity and relevance in a political landscape that increasingly seems resistant to left-wing ideals of solidarity and collective responsibility.

The main challenge lies in connecting with younger generations, who appear less inclined to embrace the traditional socialist commitment to collective support and social welfare.

An internal reorganisation will be a crucial part of this process. The PS must move beyond just refining its communications strategy; it needs a fundamental transformation of its internal structures and practices.

Modernised approach

Years of scandals, such as the Dubai expense revelations and CPAS/OCMW benefit fraud case in Brussels, have significantly eroded public trust. Rebuilding confidence will require the party to confront these issues head-on, address systemic failures and demonstrate a commitment to integrity and accountability. The PS must clean out its closet and restore credibility among voters.

On a policy level, the PS may not need to abandon its core socialist principles entirely. The success of Vooruit, the Flemish socialist party, highlights an important lesson: younger voters can still be won over if the socialist ideology is adapted to their specific concerns and aspirations.

For the PS to effectively appeal to young people, it must modernise its approach and focus on contemporary challenges that matter to this demographic, such as climate change, job insecurity and the housing crisis.

(JPO)

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