Suchergebnisse

In 1996, Belgian politics centered around three major issues: the jobs contract, the 1997 budget and political fallout of the Dutroux affair (the four girls killed by a pedophile ring).During the first months of the year, Prime Minister Dehaene attempted to win support for a comprehensive jobs contract, but the draft agreement was turned down by the Socialist trade union militants. Nevertheless, the measures contained in the agreement were later implemented by the cabinet, without the consent of the employers and organized labor. Together with adjustments made to the social security system and implementation of budgetary measures needed to reach the conditions set by the EU for joining the Economic and Monetary Union, the jobs contract was implemented by means of special powers. The cabinet obtained these special powers from Parliament before the summer recess. After the summer, as a result ofthe Dutroux alfair, the cabinet dealt with legal reform, in the process trying to quell tensions arisen among the law enforcement agencies.

Since 2002, the procedure to exert their right to vote for Belgians abroad has been reformed and simplified. This contribution focuses on Belgian voters abroad, around three distinct dimensions. First, it looks at the effect of this change in legislation on the electoral results over time: do Belgians abroad vote differently than Belgians at home? If so, how does it affect the outcome of the elections? Second, it looks at registration rates across countries: are there significant differences in registration rates of Belgian abroad across countries, and if so, why? Third, this contribution attempts to move from the aggregate to the individual-level. Based on original survey data of a non-representative sample of Belgian abroad, this contribution seeks to grasp what are the triggers and obstacles to registering to vote from abroad. More generally, it also looks at how Belgian politics and Belgian parties are seen from abroad. What are the factors that make Belgian citizens keep a political link with their home country? In doing so, this contribution attempts to provide a first original overview of Belgian voting abroad. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

This item is part of the Political & Rights Issues & Social Movements (PRISM) digital collection, a collaborative initiative between Florida Atlantic University and University of Central Florida in the Publication of Archival, Library & Museum Materials (PALMM).