Get rid of the Senate and don’t start messing around with another institution in its place. That must be the position with which CD&V will appeal to voters on June 9. In the draft texts for its election conference, this is certainly the impetus with which the party wants to open up the debate.
That is a tightening of the party position. Until recently, CD&V wanted to exchange the Senate for a “constitutive chamber”, composed of representatives of the states. Now the party is thinking in the direction of meetings between regional parliamentarians. This will not have a structural character, but will come together when necessary for constitutional matters, such as state reform.
That meeting would then consist of 75 parliamentarians from the Chamber (44 from the Dutch language group, 31 from the French language group) and another 75 from the regions (44 Dutch speakers, one from the German community, 12 from the Walloon Parliament, 15 from the French Community). Co-opted senators want to scrap the party altogether.
“For us, this fits within the necessary political renewal that needs to happen in this country,” says the party spokesperson. “Just think of a reform of party financing, limiting the expenditure of political parties on social media and things like that.” Abolishing the Senate also means a saving of 41 million euros.
In any case, abolishing the Senate requires a constitutional amendment. This means that the correct articles of the constitution must be declared “subject to revision” at the end of this legislature. Only in the next legislature can this be voted on with a two-thirds majority and a majority in both language groups.
Unblocking
On the Dutch-speaking side, minds have now matured for such a step. Senate President Stephanie D’Hose (Open VLD) announces in every interview that she wants to scrap her institution. Only Vooruit senator Bert Anciaux still defends the Senate, but he does so against the party position. The issue is more difficult in French-speaking Belgium, where they still consider the Senate valuable.
CD&V does not want to limit the constitutional changes solely to the abolition of the Senate. The party wants to push the powers regarding the labor market and health care to the states as much as possible. Moreover, a binding multi-year plan must be drawn up between the federal and the states, “in which all governments take their responsibility for achieving healthy public finances”.
To ensure that government formations do not drag on indefinitely, the party wants to introduce an unblocking mechanism. If it is still nothing after six months, then it should be done according to the model of the Brussels government. Each language group then looks for a majority. Together they will form the new federal government.
The House will also have the option to dissolve itself if it were completely blocked.
