Belgian Socialist party

The Belgian Socialist party ( PSB ) is an old social democrat party Belgian unit (i.e. addressing itself as well to the French-speaking people as with the Flemish ). In Dutch, one called it the Belgische Socialistische Partij (BSP). The party lived of 1885 with 1978, date where it was divided into a French-speaking wing (the PS) and a wing Flemish E (SP).

History

1885-1945: the Belgian working Party

The party sees the day in April 1885. Its birth is the result of a slow process of regrouping of more than one hundred of workers' associations and democratic. The majority of them are of recent creation, but some are presented however in the form of heiresses of older groups. The inaugural congress took place with Brussels, with the coffee the Swan . It took then, on an idea of César de Paepe, the name of Parti working Belgian (POB) or Belgische Werkliedenpartij in Dutch (BWP).

Before 1885, the labor movement knows, in Belgium, several determining phases:

  • in the Years 1840, the work of precursors achieved by many intellectuals and much of craftsmen with the assistance of exiled foreign such Karl Marx;
  • in 1848, revolutionary effervescence with the example of the France but without a future in Belgium;
at the end of the Years 1850, the creation of the first large Trade union S workmen; Resulting in 1885 from the will to organize all the working class by the union of its defenders and for the conquest of progressive reforms, the POB is built ideologically like a synthesis of the various currents of socialist thought. This synthesis will be incarnated by one of its founders, César de Paepe, then by the future president of the party, Emile Vandervelde, principal author of the Charte of Quaregnon which will be a long time the only official doctrinal text of Belgian socialism. On this basis, the working party acts in several directions. On the one hand, it leads the difficult combat for the political equality, while resorting on several occasions, between 1890 and 1913, with the weapon of the general strike. Thus in 1893, the POB starts a strike in all the country, in order to obtain the vote for all. Clashes with the police force at the time of demonstrations make several deaths. The vote censitaire is replaced by the plural vote. In addition, it supports the emergence of a network of Mutuelle S, of Coopérative S, cultural and sporting groups and trade unions in order to immediately improve the fate of its members and to support the political action, carried out within the Parliament as of 1894. The same year, the annual convention of the POB adopts with Quaregnon a charter (today known like the charter of Quaregnon), which defines the values of the Belgian socialist movement. It is defined in particular as the defender of all oppressed, whatever their nationality, their sex, their religion or their race. The same year, the first socialist deputies enter to the Parliament.

In 1916, the party takes part for the first time in a government.

Forts of their “honest” attitude during the First World War, the Socialists automatically enter as of November 1918 a government of national union (with the catholics and the liberals). This type of coalition will be maintained until in 1921. In 1919, the vote for all is founded. The POB obtains seventy deputies and four ministers. This period sees constructing a whole of political reforms, economic and social asserted long time by the Socialists: trade-union freedom, day eight hours, old-age pension, insurance unemployment, law against alcoholism, progressive increase in taxation…

In May 1921, Joseph Jacquemotte and its partisans leave the POB and found the Belgian Communist party which amalgamates a few months later with the Communist party, directed by War Van Overstraeten, to form the Communist party of Belgium.

In 1925, the POB becomes the first group of the Room and returns to the capacity, allied with the wing Christian-Democrat of the catholic party. This left coalition will last only a few months and after short tripartite, the Socialists will turn over in the opposition until in 1935.

Vis-a-vis the crisis and to the government policy of right-hand side, the POB passes to the offensive, in 1933, while being mobilized on the basis of Plan “of the Work” worked out by Henri de Man (introduction of a mode of mixed economy). With the congress of Christmas 1933, the Scheme of work is adopted by the party, which breaks thus with several fundamental Marxisme (which is favorable to socializations and not nationalizations, and which counts more on the direct action of the masses than on the State). This plan envisages the nationalization of the credit and certain industries in order to restore the growth. This policy, qualified “planning”, fact of the followers in France since the CGT and, to a lesser extent, SFIO adopt “plans” inspired of the Belgian initiative.

In 1935, the POB turns over to the capacity in tripartite with the liberals and the catholics. He does not manage to apply the Scheme of work, which creates tensions inside the party: the Internationalism and the Réformisme of the older generation (Emile Vandervelde) are disputed by Paul-Henri Spaak or Henri de Man, which proposes a national socialism which would aim at restoring the authority. The base also badly includes/understands the attitude of Spaak as a Foreign Minister. Indeed, this one will refuse to intervene in the Guerre of Spain and will agree to recognize the government of Franco.

In 1936, while a vast strike movement general beats full sound, the government obtains employers the forty hours week in certain industries and paid vacations.

1945-1978: the Belgian Socialist party

In 1940, the POB east dissolves by its president Henri de Man (since the death of fine Vandervelde 1938), who incites his members to join the policy of Léopold III. Itself joined the rows of collaboration. Many militants do not take this advice and enter the Résistance and on the Walloon side reflects during the occupation in a radical reorganization of the socialist movement and Belgian State on a federal basis. This idea will not be retained with the Libération. On the other hand, the clandestine Socialists carry it in 1945 when the movement chooses the autonomy of its four large branches. The organizations trade-union (FGTB), mutuellist and co-operative are from now on independent of the political organization, become Belgian Socialist party (PSB).

In 1945, a new party, the PSB is founded.

After the payment of the royal Question and the abdication of the king Léopold III under the pressure of the left, the Années 1950 will be marked by great school conflicts. The catholic party, only the capacity of 1950 with 1954 and which supported “free” teaching, succeed in 1954 the Socialists who then endeavor with the liberals to reverse the vapor with the profit of the official schools. However, it is hardly question at the time of great social skills. The principal economic reforms and social, whose introduction of the social security, were obtained under the governments with socialist direction of immediate the post-war period. At the end of the decade, the economic and social problems return to the apron when the points of anchoring of Walloon industry are in crisis. Party and trade union Socialists have then the same goal, the realization of economic reforms of structures. The Walloon militants add to it the federalism at the time of the general strike of the winter 1960 against a project of “single law” of the government Christian-liberal. Just like the royal business, the “great strike” is revealing width of the Community problem and linguistics. The efforts in order to regulate the Community tensions, between 1961 and 1965, do not lead to the appeasing. Consequently, the Walloon Socialists direct themselves even more towards the federalistic claim starting from 1967. In addition, in 1968, part of the Flemish militants of Brussels makes scission and creates the Rode Leeuwen (red Lions), a Flemish socialist movement which presents concurrent lists of those of the PSB-BSP, preceding the final scission of 1978. The Socialists also contributed in 1970 to register in the Constitution a solution of the “Community and regionalistic” type.

1978: The PS and the SP

If the Flanders actually obtained in 1970 the cultural autonomy which she wished, Wallonia had only the promise of the economic regionalization which she claimed. All the efforts of the French-speaking Socialists will tend during the decade to the concretization of this claim, that the economic crisis returns more justified even starting from 1975. In this context, the tensions and the divergences between Socialists of the north and the south of the country - as previously in the other political families - lead in 1978 to the scission of the party in a French-speaking wing (the PS) and a wing Flemish E (SP). It has been the result of an evolution then in progress for forty years. André Cools becomes the first president of the French-speaking Socialists.

Historical personalities of the Belgian working Party (1885-1940) and of the Belgian Socialist party (1945-1978)

Internal bonds

  • Radical left in Belgium

External bonds

  • Official site of the PS
  • Official site of the SPA (in Dutch)

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