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Belgium: Political Developments and Data in 2024

ispole | Louvain-la-Neuve

ispole
31 October 2025, modifié le 29 October 2025

Belgium: Political Developments and Data in 2024

Before and After a New ‘Mother of All Elections’

Pierre Baudewyns, Audrey Vandeleene, Lieven De Winter, Serge Deruette

 

Abstract

In 2024, Belgium experienced its third consecutive ‘Mother of all elections’. Federal, regional and European elections were held on 9 June and local elections on 13 October. These elections profoundly transformed Belgium's political landscape: the right and center, with Reformist Movement/Mouvement réformateur (MR) and Les Engagés, took the lead in Wallonia, putting an end to Socialist domination. In Flanders, New Flemish Alliance/Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie (N-VA) maintained its position as the leading party despite the rise of Vlaams Belang, while the ecologists suffered a net decline in all regions. In Brussels, the Socialist Party remained in the lead, but the MR made significant gains. This led to the creation of unedited coalitions: the ‘Arizona’ federal government (N-VA, MR, Vooruit, Christian Democratic and Flemish/Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams [CD&V], Les Engagés)—yet not already formed by the end of 2024, the ‘Azur’ coalition in Wallonia (MR–Les Engagés) and a tripartite in Flanders (N-VA, Vooruit, CD&V), reflecting a profound restructuring of federal and regional executive power.

 

Baudewyns, P., Vandeleene, A., De Winter, L. & Deruette, S. (2024). Belgium: Political developments and data in 2023. The autumn of the Vivaldi government. European Journal of Political Research. Political Data Yearbook 63(1): 3949. https://doi.org/10.1111/2047-8852.12465