Belgian Government Formation: Party System, Judiciary, and Territorial Organization
The high fragmentation of the party system means no single party achieves an absolute majority. Many of the patterns that characterize the process of government formation are not formal rules, but practices that have evolved over time.
Formal Aspects: The Head of State plays an important role in the process of government formation. After the election, they appoint an informateur (if no clear majority in parliament) to find a combination of parties eligible to form a government. The informateur evaluates the possibilities of coalition government, presents these alternatives to the King, and advises on appointing a formateur, who is to be Prime Minister. The formateur and government reach agreement through negotiation with the various political groups. The formateur suggests the new government team to the King. After this, the candidate for Prime Minister presents the most relevant lines of the governance agreement reached in the House of Representatives. A debate is held in a plenary meeting, and a vote of confidence is issued. It requires the support of an absolute majority in the House of Representatives in order to hold the inauguration of the Prime Minister. The government formation process is often long (up to two or three months).
With the increasing relevance of the regional linguistic divide, the process is further complicated (with new rules of linguistic parity of ministers since 1970).
The Christian Social Party (CVP-PSC) has been a leader since the post-war period. After 1968, there was an increase in the number of coalition governments (due to further fragmentation and decisions requiring consensus).
So far, parties of the same ideology from different language areas have participated jointly in the government. With the creation of regional governments, the interaction between the logic of coalition formation in different areas may lead to changes in this pattern.
The linguistic divide has been institutionalized; now that the parties are separate organizations in Flanders and Wallonia, language conflicts are resolved in the government and not in the parties. Some pressures and conflicts have moved from the electoral arena to the government.
The legislature has a maximum term of 4 years but rarely achieves this (averaging 2 years). Despite a number of governments, there are also very short periods of government stability. Since 1986, there has been more stability (instability had split matches with above). In most cases, the dissolution of coalitions occurs as a result of disagreements within the cabinet and the parties that form it. If the House of Representatives is dissolved, the Senate is also dissolved, and legislative elections are held. With the constitutional reforms of 1993, new measures were introduced to stabilize the government (Motions, for example).
The Judiciary
The Court of Cassation is the highest court. It has 3 chambers: one dealing with social matters, one with civil matters, and one with criminal matters. Belgian territory is divided into 225 cantons, 26 district courts, provincial courts, and courts of appeal.
With the federalization process, a Court of Arbitration was created to resolve conflicts of jurisdiction between the federal government and the regions. Its composition reflects the main division of the Belgian State, with 6 judges representing Dutch speakers and 6 representing French speakers. In the 1990s, there were several cases of corruption, and there are many criticisms about the ineffectiveness of the justice system, so justice reform has become part of the political agenda.
Territorial Organization
Since independence, Belgium was configured as a unitary state despite the clear differences between Wallonia and Flanders. A process of political decentralization began due to the electoral success of Flemish nationalist movements (linguistic fracture). The constitutional reforms that took place between 1970 and 1993 have transformed the country into a federal state consisting of communities and regions.