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Reformist Movement (Belgium)

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For the political alliance in France, see Reformist Movement (France).
Reformist Movement
Mouvement réformateur
AbbreviationMR
PresidentGeorges-Louis Bouchez
Founded24 March 2002; 22 years ago (2002-03-24)
Merger of
HeadquartersNational Secretariat
Avenue de la Toison D'Or 84-86
1060
Brussels, Belgium
Think tankCentre Jean Gol
Student wingFédération des Étudiants Libéraux
Youth wingJeunes MR
Ideology
Political positionCentre-right
Regional affiliationLiberal Group[1]
European affiliationAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
European Parliament groupRenew Europe
International affiliationLiberal International
Flemish counterpartOpen VLD
German-speaking counterpartParty for Freedom and Progress
Colours  Blue
SloganL’Avenir s’éclaire
('The Future is Brighter')
Chamber of Representatives
(French-speaking seats)
20 / 60
Senate
(French-speaking seats)
8 / 24
Walloon Parliament
20 / 75
Parliament of the French Community
32 / 94
Parliament of the German-speaking Community
3 / 25
Brussels Parliament
(French-speaking seats)
18 / 72
European Parliament
(French-speaking seats)
3 / 8
Benelux Parliament
3 / 22
Website
www.mr.be

The Reformist Movement[2][3] (French: Mouvement réformateur, pronounced [muvmɑ̃ ʁefɔʁmatœʁ], MR) is a liberal[4][5][6] French-speaking political party in Belgium, which includes social-liberal[7][8][9] and conservative-liberal factions.[10][11] Stemming from the Belgian Liberal Party founded in 1846, the MR is one of the oldest parties on the European continent.[12]

Since October 2014, the party has provided two prime ministers: Charles Michel and Sophie Wilmès. It has been a member of every federal government since the 2000s. At the federated entities level, the MR was in charge of Wallonia from 2017 to 2019 with Willy Borsus as Minister-President of Wallonia. It is currently in charge of the French community with Pierre-Yves Jeholet as Minister-President of the French community.

The MR emerged victorious from the 2024 elections, becoming the leading French-speaking party. In Wallonia, the party came out on top with 29.6% of the vote. In Brussels, the MR also placed first, with 25.9% of the vote. Just a few days after the elections, the MR announced it would work closely with Les Engagés to quickly form governments in the Walloon Region and the French community.[13] Having a majority on the French-speaking side of the Federal parliament, they joined forces to work on the formation of a new Belgian governement.[14]

The MR is an alliance between three French-speaking and one German-speaking liberal parties. The Liberal Reformist Party (PRL) and the Francophone Democratic Federalists (FDF) started the alliance in 1993, and were joined in 1998 by the Citizens' Movement for Change (MCC). The alliance was then known as the PRL-FDF-MCC federation. The alliance became the MR during a congress in 2002, where the German-speaking liberal party, the Party for Freedom and Progress joined as well.[15] The label PRL is no longer used, and the three other parties still use their own names. The MR is a member of Liberal International and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) Party. However, on 25 September 2011, the FDF decided to leave the coalition. They did not agree with the manner in which president Charles Michel defended the rights of the French-speaking people in the agreement concerning the splitting of the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde district, during the 2010–11 Belgian government formation.[16]

Ideology and policies

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Over the years, the MR has always oscillated between ideological markers closer to conservative liberalism or social liberalism. Its fundamental principles remain however the same through time, such as defending civil liberties, free market, entrepreneurial freedom, and equal opportunities.

During Georges-Louis Bouchez's tenure as party president, the party is said to have shifted further to the right,[17] aligning more with the centre-right.[18][19] Bouchez has for example often publicly pointed out some excesses of the woke movement.[20]

On its current platform, the party advocates higher revenues through lower taxes; time-limited unemployment benefits; life extension of the most recent nuclear reactors; greater investment in police, justice and defense; less government and state neutrality.[21] MR is "belgicain", in favor of Belgian unity and a strong federal state.[22]

Foreign policy

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The MR is also a strong supporter of the European Union and NATO.[23] It has always defended support, including military aid, for Ukraine since the Russian invasion in 2022. In 2024, the MR was the only party from De Croo Government to be opposed to Belgium recognizing the State of Palestine.[24]

Presidents

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Representation in EU Institutions

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In the European Parliament, Mouvement Réformateur sits in the Renew Europe group with three MEPs: Sophie Wilmès, Olivier Chastel and Benoit Cassart.

In the European Committee of the Regions, Mouvement Réformateur sits in the Renew Europe CoR group, with one full and one alternate member for the 2020-2025 mandate.[25][26] Willy Borsus is second vice-president of the Renew Europe CoR Group.[27]

Election results

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Chamber of Representatives

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Election Votes % Seats +/- Government
1995 623,250 10.3
19 / 150
 Opposition
1999 630,219 10.1
18 / 150
 Decrease 1 Coalition
2003 748,954 11.4
24 / 150
 Increase 6 Coalition
2007 835,073 12.5
23 / 150
 Decrease 1 Coalition
2010 605,617 9.3
18 / 150
 Decrease 5 Coalition
2014 650,260 9.6
20 / 150
 Increase 2 Coalition
2019 512,825 7.6
14 / 150
 Decrease 6 Coalition
2024 716,934 10.3
20 / 150
 Increase 6 TBA

Senate

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Election Votes % Seats +/-
1995 672,798 11.2
5 / 40
1999 654,961 10.6
5 / 40
 Steady 0
2003 795,757 12.2
5 / 40
 Steady 0
2007 815,755 12.3
6 / 40
 Increase 1
2010 599,618 9.3
4 / 40
 Decrease 2

Regional

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Brussels Parliament

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Election Votes % Seats +/- Government
F.E.C. Overall
1989 83,011 18.9 (#2)
15 / 75
 Opposition
1995 144,478 35.0 (#1)
28 / 75
 Increase 13 Coalition
1999 146,845 40.1 (#1) 34.4 (#1)
27 / 75
 Decrease 1 Coalition
2004 127,122 32.5 (#2) 28.0 (#2)
25 / 89
 Decrease 2 Opposition
2009 121,905 29.8 (#1) 26.5 (#1)
24 / 89
 Decrease 1 Opposition
2014 94,227 23.0 (#2) 20.4 (#2)
18 / 89
 Decrease 6 Opposition
2019 65,502 16.9 (#3) 14.3 (#3)
13 / 89
 Decrease 5 Opposition
2024 101,157 26.0 (#1)
20 / 89
 Increase 7 TBA

Walloon Parliament

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Election Votes % Seats +/- Government
1995 447,542 23.7 (#2)
19 / 75
 Opposition
1999 470,454 24.7 (#2)
21 / 75
 Increase 2 Coalition
2004 478,999 24.3 (#2)
20 / 75
 Decrease 1 Opposition
2009 469,792 23.1 (#2)
19 / 75
 Decrease 1 Opposition
2014 546,363 26.7 (#2)
25 / 75
 Increase 6 Opposition
2019 435,878 21.4 (#2)
20 / 75
 Decrease 5 Coalition
2024 612.010 29.1 (#1)
26 / 75
 Increase 6 Coalition

European Parliament

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Election List leader Votes % Seats +/- EP Group
F.E.C. Overall
1979 André Damseaux 372,904 17.76 (#4) 6.85
2 / 24
 New LD
1984 Daniel Ducarme 540,610 24.14 (#2) 9.45
3 / 24
 Increase 1 LDR
1989 François-Xavier de Donnea 423,479 18.90 (#2) 7.18
2 / 24
 Decrease 1
1994[a] Jean Gol 541,724 24.25 (#2) 9.08
2 / 25
 Steady 0 ELDR
1999[a] Daniel Ducarme 624,445 26.99 (#1) 10.03
2 / 25
 Steady 0
2004 Louis Michel 671,422 27.58 (#2) 10.35
3 / 24
 Increase 1 ALDE
2009 640,092 26.05 (#2) 9.74
2 / 22
 Decrease 1
2014 661,332 27.10 (#2) 9.88
3 / 21
 Increase 1
2019 Olivier Chastel 470,654 19.29 (#3) 7.06
2 / 21
 Decrease 1 RE
2024 Sophie Wilmès 900,413 34.88 (#1) 12.62
3 / 22
 Increase 1
  1. ^ a b Run in a joint list with FDF.

Notable figures

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Politieke fracties". Benelux Parliament (in Dutch). Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  2. ^ Walsh, David (2 October 2020). "Belgium: New seven-party coalition government officially sworn in". Euronews. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  3. ^ Birnbaum, Michael (20 December 2019). "Without a government for a year, Belgium shows what happens to politics without politicians". The Washington Post. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  4. ^ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2019). "Wallonia/Belgium". Parties and Elections in Europe.
  5. ^ Almeida, Dimitri. "Liberal Parties and European Integration" (PDF).
  6. ^ Colin Hay; Anand Menon (18 January 2007). European Politics. Oxford University Press. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-19-928428-3.
  7. ^ Chardon, Frédéric. "Des libéraux veulent créer un courant progressiste au MR: avec Christine Defraigne à leur tête?". La Libre.be (in French). Retrieved 2022-01-02.
  8. ^ "RLP, le nouveau «Rassemblement des libéraux progressistes» au sein du MR". Le Soir (in French). 2019-11-26. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
  9. ^ Dimitri Almeida (2012). The Impact of European Integration on Political Parties: Beyond the Permissive Consensus. Routledge. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-415-69374-5.
  10. ^ Hans Slomp (30 September 2011). Europe, A Political Profile: An American Companion to European Politics. ABC-CLIO. p. 465. ISBN 978-0-313-39182-8. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  11. ^ Peter Starke; Alexandra Kaasch; Franca Van Hooren (7 May 2013). The Welfare State as Crisis Manager: Explaining the Diversity of Policy Responses to Economic Crisis. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 192. ISBN 978-1-137-31484-0.
  12. ^ "MR and Open VLD celebrate 175 years of liberalism". ALDE Party. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  13. ^ Times, The Brussels. "'A collaboration, not a fusion': MR and Les Engagés will work together in all governments". www.brusselstimes.com. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  14. ^ Times, The Brussels. "What's the latest on Belgium's Federal Government formation?". www.brusselstimes.com. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  15. ^ "Le Mouvement Réformateur: Statuts" (PDF) (in French). The Reformist Movement. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  16. ^ "FDF almost unanimously votes in favour of split with MR" (in Dutch). deredactie.be. 25 September 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-25.
  17. ^ Chini, Maïthé; Taylor, Lukas (January 11, 2023). "A beginner's guide to Belgium's political parties". The Brussels Times. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  18. ^ Josep M. Colomer (2008). Comparative European Politics. Taylor & Francis. p. 220. ISBN 978-0-203-94609-1. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  19. ^ Rik Pinxten (2006). "Neo-nationalism and Democracy in Belgium: On understanding the contexts of neo-communitarianism". In André Gingrich; Marcus Banks (eds.). Neo-nationalism in Europe and Beyond: Perspectives from Social Anthropology. Berghahn Books. p. 131. ISBN 978-1-84545-190-5.
  20. ^ Dejace, Thibault (2023-03-06). "Quand le MR et la N-VA s'attaquent au "wokisme"". Moustique (in French). Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  21. ^ "Avec le MR, l'avenir s'éclaire". MR (in French). Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  22. ^ "Georges-Louis Bouchez: «Je suis belgicain et non, ce n'est pas ringard!»". sudinfo.be (in French). 2022-07-18. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  23. ^ "Projet - MR". Mr.be. 2021-12-22. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  24. ^ "Reconnaissance de la Palestine: pourquoi les libéraux sont-ils les seuls à s'y opposer?". RTL Info (in French). 2024-05-28. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  25. ^ "Members Page CoR".
  26. ^ "Members Page CoR".
  27. ^ "Bureau". Renew Europe CoR. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
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Media related to Mouvement Réformateur at Wikimedia Commons

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