List Dedecker

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List Dedecker - Common Sense
Leader Jean-Marie Dedecker
Political Ideology Conservative liberalism
Fortuynism
Libertarianism
Founded 2007
Earlier name(s) Cassandra vzw
International Affiliation none
European Affiliation none
European Parliament Group none
Cartel none
Walloon/French-speaking counterpart none
German-speaking counterpart none
Website www.lijstdedecker.be
Headquarters national secretariat
Troonstraat 38/53
BE 8400 Ostend
Colours Blue/Orange
See also Politics of Belgium
Politics of Flanders
Politics of Wallonia

Political parties
Elections

List Dedecker (Dutch: Lijst Dedecker) is a Belgian political party founded in January 2007 by Senator Jean-Marie Dedecker. He founded the party after the Cassandra vzw thinktank judged in 2006 that there was room for a right-liberal movement in Flanders, expressing the need for a "Common Sense Party".

Contents

[edit] Platform

The party strives for a more independent Flanders. The economic program consists in a smaller more efficient government, a simpler and social flat tax and a limit in time of the unemployment benefits. Other parts of the program consist in the proposition for a binding referendum, the abolition of the barriers for new political parties in Belgium and a tougher approach towards crime. Ethically, the party founded by the former VLD senator is liberal. The new party has as its baseline 'Lijst Dedecker, Common Sense'.

Dedecker List also opposes the Cordon sanitaire that is used to keep the extreme right Flemish party Vlaams Belang from power, claiming that it is unsuccessful and undemocratic.

[edit] Members

In early 2007 a part of the party VLOTT, cartel partner of Vlaams Belang, joined Dedecker List. Important members of Dedecker List are Boudewijn Bouckaert, who heads liberal think tank Nova Civitas, and several mayors and former VLD members. Vlaams Belang House of Representatives members Jurgen Verstrepen and Monique Moens stepped over to Dedecker List in April 2007, which led to the de facto existence of a new fraction in parliament. Verstrepen will lead the Antwerp list for the party. Mimount Bousakla, a sp.a senator, decided to join Dedecker List in May 2007.[1]

Current president is Jean-Marie Dedecker.

[edit] Elections

Dedecker List took part in the 2007 general election, in which they have exceeded the 5% threshold for parliamentary representation, although opinion polls in run-up to the election all dismissed the chances for the party to meet the threshold. Marten Fortuyn, brother of the slain Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn, campaigned for the party in run-up to the election.[2] One election analyst showed after the election that List Dedecker was able to attract voters across all political parties, including former SP.A, VLD, and VB voters.[3] In these 10 June 2007 general elections, the party won 5 out of 150 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 1 out of 40 seats in the Senate.


[edit] Representation

[edit] Federal Parliament (as of June 28, 2007)

[edit] Belgian Senate

[edit] Chamber of representatives

[edit] Flemish Parliament (as of July 4, 2007)

[edit] References

  1. ^ (Dutch)"Mimount Bousakla naar Lijst Dedecker", De Standaard, 2007-05-13. Retrieved on 2007-06-05. 
  2. ^ (Dutch)"Marten Fortuyn steunt Vlaams rechts", Algemeen Dagblad, 2007-06-05. Retrieved on 2007-06-05. 
  3. ^ "Who took votes from whom?", 2007-06-11. Retrieved on 2007-06-12. 

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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Flemish parties
Francophone parties
German parties
Pan-Belgian
Portal:Politics - List of political parties - Politics of Belgium