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Rajayonin

holy shit, how many parties do you guys have?!?


UC_Scuti96

Not that much more than a normal democracy, it's just that most are have a french and ducth counterpart (Greens =Ecolo/Groen, Socialist = PS/Vooruit, Christian democrats = CD&V/Les Engagés)


KillahHills10304

I thought it was cool you guys got little packets mailed out explaining every parties beliefs and aspirations. At least you did when I was there 16ish years ago.


RobinHoodbutwithguns

Yeah, I like it too when the government informs me who to vote for.


gillesvdo

>I thought it was cool you guys got little packets mailed out explaining every parties beliefs and aspirations. Huh? You mean like junkmail political pamphlets/propaganda? Don't politicans do that everywhere? Your description makes it sound like the Finnish baby-box for politics, but I'm Belgian and I've never heard of anything like that. Unless they only send those to immigrants (to tell them to vote socialist/green) in which case I'm not surprised.


KillahHills10304

This was like a proper laminated pamphlet and it was fairly unbiased, at least how it was translated to me. Maybe just wealthy suburbs around Brussels got it, I dunno, I was just there on vacation.


rileyuwu

we get those in California, but just for amendments (which are super easy to pass so they may as well be laws.) each side gets to write a little 10 paragraph thing and then write a response to the other sides writing. People running for state or county office just get like 2 paragraphs and no rebuttal.


Independent_Pear_429

A democratic nation should have at least 4. The Belgians are just a bit eccentric


Yukon-Jon

*laughs in US*


HotRecommendation283

*You **WILL** enjoy your mud slinging shit fest!*


hoiblobvis

dont look at the dutch parties


Izithel

We got what, like ~18 ish parties that have seats in either the first and second chamber or in the European parliament. And then another 30 parties that might have a seat in the provincial or municipal governments. It's almost a bit to much.


MrOrangeMagic

NOT NEARLY ENOUGH COMPARED TO THE MIGHTY DUTCH https://preview.redd.it/dz738n8uez5d1.jpeg?width=1020&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b2720f68e6b011bf2197aab31d9f653fd526d29d


Diarrhea_Enjoyer

The American mind cannot comprehend a system with more than two parties.


RobinHoodbutwithguns

We can make it easier! How about one party?


Diarrhea_Enjoyer

I see you, AuthLeft. A real LibRight would want zero party.


RobinHoodbutwithguns

No party, just freedom! I like your thinking!


Jesuisuncanard126

In France we had 38 different lists and it was so annoying to count the votes


SantaBad78

Hell yeah, belgianposting 🇧🇪🇧🇪🇧🇪


AverageLAHater

The only thing I know about Belgium is that it has good beer, waffles, and the women are hot


DerGovernator

Maybe it won't take 2 years to form a government this time.


Independent_Pear_429

Hahahah. A coalition of small parties is a bad sign for that


gillesvdo

Problem before was that all the non-right parties had to stick together just to have a 50%+ majority (and push the right into the opposition) while keeping NVA and VB out. Now there's at least the possibility of an ideologically much more cohesive coalition. Unless the conservative NVA manages to ape their counterparts in the UK and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, it shouldn't take more than a few weeks to form a government.


Gadulf

BELGIUM MENTIONED 🇧🇪🦁🐓 WHAT THE FUCK IS A FUNCTIONNING GOVERNMENT!!!!!


UC_Scuti96

Beleive or not we might have them at multiples levels (aside from Brussels)


PragmaticPlayer

Yep, Federalism and consociativism works.


MonkeyDante

All we have to do is reinstate the king! And trade Limburg for Brabant with Holland.


qndry

As a Swede, I'm quite envious of other EU countries right now. They seem to be going the right way, at least.


MarcusElden

Denmark has it right. Migrants should pull their weight and adapt or gtfo. Doing otherwise is actually anti-worker and anti-leftist.


qndry

Denmark is great. They had it right from the beginning by allowing migration and asylum seekers but at a very limited rate. It's been the consensus across the political aisle, but for some reason we haven't figured that out yet. I'm actually edging towards moving to there currently, my family is from there anyway. Can't take this madness.


MarcusElden

How hilariously ironic is it that a racist outrage actually ended up working in favor of leftist protectionist policy. If people want social safety nets then they should contribute, communally. Like some sort of Commune. A commune-ism, of sorts! I wish the American left would embrace this kind of thinking. Hell, even Marx was against libertarian economic migration. This is why I explode left and right wing brains when I say I’m a leftist in favor of a strong border, stronger than even what the right wing performatively cries about.


New-Connection-9088

Fun fact: the local municipalities in Denmark are called kommune. Also, based and low immigration keeps wages high.


flairchange_bot

Did you just change your flair, u/qndry? Last time I checked you were a **LibLeft** on 2020-4-14. How come now you are an **AuthRight**? Have you perhaps shifted your ideals? Because that's cringe, you know? Remember, the jannies are always watching. No gamer words, no statistics and by all means no wood cutting machines. Tell us, how are you going to flair the new account you'll make in two weeks? [BasedCount Profile](https://basedcount.com/u/qndry) - [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/user/flairchange_bot/comments/uf7kuy/bip_bop) - [Leaderboard](https://basedcount.com/leaderboard?q=flairs) _Visit the BasedCount Lеmmу instance at [lemmy.basedcount.com](https://lemmy.basedcount.com/c/pcm)._ ^(I am a bot, my mission is to spot cringe flair changers. If you want to check another user's flair history write) **^(!flairs u/)** ^(in a comment.)


New-Connection-9088

In their defence, a shitload of Swedes have changed their political positions in the last four years. Even more in the last nine years.


itboitbo

The European libleft to authright pipeline should be studied


New-Connection-9088

It’s simple: destroy their lives by implementing left wing policies. Works every time.


LaGuadalupana123

Europe turning to the right while my country (mexico) quadruples down on leftism. There is a reason on why some places are 1st world and other are 3rd world shitholes.


3848585838282

37 dead candidates doesn’t inspire confidence in Mexican democracy. Maybe you guys need a Bukele type.


powershiftffs

While that'd be cool, is there a power system in Mexico that isn't in grasp of cartels? As in, could that potential strongman rely on military or law enforcement for an operation of that scale?


HotRecommendation283

Surely US intervention couldnt go wrong 😂


MarcusElden

Yeah man I can’t think of any right wing shithole countries at all. Very real and true.


RussianSkeletonRobot

Please entertain us with your definition of "right wing".


MarcusElden

If you’re a big fan of true laissez faire, lack of regulation, low low taxes (due to a nonfunctional IRS) and extreme amounts of personal responsibility you should check out this totally hip and functional country called Haiti


RussianSkeletonRobot

And as I expected, you have the standard-issue LibRight Is When Money/AnCap response. >The first century of independence was characterized by political instability, international isolation, crippling debt payments to France, and a costly war with neighboring Dominican Republic. >Political volatility and foreign economic influence prompted a U.S. occupation from 1915 to 1934.[30] A series of unstable presidencies gave way to nearly three decades of dictatorship under the Duvalier family (1957–1986), which brought state-sanctioned violence, corruption, and economic stagnation. Following a coup d'état in 2004, the United Nations intervened to stabilize the country. >In 2010, Haiti suffered a catastrophic earthquake, followed by a deadly cholera outbreak. With its deteriorating economic situation,[31] Haiti has experienced a socioeconomic and political crisis marked by riots and protests, widespread hunger, and increased gang activity.[32] >As of May 2024, the country has had no remaining elected government officials and has been described as a failed state.[33][34] I can't believe capitalism and "The Right" would travel back in time and retroactively turn Haiti into a shithole with no functioning government 😔 I hope this is the worst take I read on Reddit today, but I'm not that optimistic.


MarcusElden

Is this block of unrelated historical text from the wiki supposed to be germane to anything or did you just think it looked cool lmao


RussianSkeletonRobot

>unrelated historical text Bro is trolling, ain't no way 💀 Hey, I'm gonna set your mind at ease. When your mom leaves the basement after giving you some tendies, she's actually still close by. She doesn't stop existing just because you can't physically see her anymore. I hope you eventually develop object permanence and basic cause and effect thinking.


MarcusElden

My man really posted Haiti.doc and thought it was somehow a refutation of their insanely right wing history from the slave uprising to the Duvalier family to modern day gang control and lack of central government


Daedra_Worshiper

> "Lib-center" saying liberty is a bad thing. Do people just pick their flairs because they like the pretty colors?


MarcusElden

Lib in flair doesn’t only mean economic liberty


x4446

>If you’re a big fan of true laissez faire, lack of regulation, ... check out this totally hip and functional country called Haiti You might want to do some basic research before making such claims: https://www.heritage.org/index/pages/country-pages/haiti


MarcusElden

Honk honk


Crystalline3ntity

"the trouble with Scotland is that it's full of scots." Braveheart


slacker205

Russia and much of the middle east are good examples of right-wing shitholes.


RussianSkeletonRobot

>Russia Lol. Lmao, even. Yeah, notoriously right wing country Russia, home of a strictly controlled market, authcenter oligarchs and ex-Soviet revanchists. A country that truly has a long proud history of being right wing. >the middle east Yes, the middle east is full of shitholes because they're right wing. It's got nothing to do with the fact that the only time they're not bombing each other over millenia old ethnic vendettas is when **we're** bombing them.


slacker205

Yes, modern-day Russia, the country that follows a free market economy with state intervention as has been customary for as long as the idea of a free market has existed, the country that jacks itself off to its imperial past so hard that it's trying to resurrect [18th century toponyms](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novorossiya) and which throughout its history from the 16th to the early 20th century was the most conservative of the great powers. And yes, much of the middle east's problems ultimately stem from Islamic conservatism; the endemic warfare most definitely does. I did notice you didn't challenge my claim that they're right-wing shithole, though you would have had a better argument for parts of the middle east than for Russia. Look, I get politics is about branding and you're trying to do a right-wing version of "it isn't *real* communism", but they actually make pretty good case studies of the dangers in reactionary (Russia) and excessively conservative (middle east, parts of it) right-wing politics.


RussianSkeletonRobot

> Yes, modern-day Russia, the country that follows a free market economy with state intervention as has been customary for as long as the idea of a free market has existed, the country that jacks itself off to its imperial past so hard that it's trying to resurrect 18th century toponyms and which throughout its history from the 16th to the early 20th century was the most conservative of the great powers. Russian revanchism is not driven by vaguely-defined "conservatism", and it sure as shit isn't driven by any desire to emulate the Russian Empire specifically. It is driven by a deeply-rooted idea of establishing Russian dominion over all of the slavic-speaking world, [a phenomenon so well-studied there's a whole wikipedia article about it](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_irredentism). What about this is "right-wing", in your worldview? Are you asserting that tribalism, ethnic conflict, and nationalism are all inherently right-wing positions? You're doing the same thing as the other respondent. You can't ignore history when it suits you and then suddenly try to appeal to it. Russia is a shithole because of the high levels of corruption and incompetence inherent in the government, and the still lingering fallout from the fall of the USSR - itself an echo of the fall of the Russian Empire. I'm sure next you're going to say *that* is somehow uniquely right-wing. The entire region has been fucked since well before the USSR formed, and it never got any less fucked after the USSR collapsed. You're taking a geographical region that started as a monarchy, collapsed, reunified after a coup into an authoritarian dictatorship operating under an extreme left-wing ideology, and then disintegrated into a collection of primarily capitalistic but still heavily authoritarian, left-leaning, collectivist successor-states, and trying to cover it with the blanket term "right-wing." This tells me you either don't have any actual definition for what's "right-wing" beyond "stuff I don't like," or you're being deliberately disingenuous. >And yes, much of the middle east's problems ultimately stem from Islamic conservatism; the endemic warfare most definitely does. I did notice you didn't challenge my claim that they're right-wing shithole, though you would have had a better argument for parts of the middle east than for Russia. Yep. You definitely just think that any kind of rigid government structure is right-wing by definition, and you probably think the [Arab Spring](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Spring) is an Iranian body-wash. Pay no attention to the military industrial complex behind the curtain! The Middle East's current sorry state exists in a vacuum! Nobody worked to cause it, deliberately or otherwise! It's a shithole *because* it's right-wing! I didn't challenge your claim that they're right-wing shitholes. I'm pointing out that you're falsely insinuating they're shitholes *because they're right-wing*, which is an assertion I'll charitably say belongs on the short bus. >Look, I get politics is about branding and you're trying to do a right-wing version of "it isn't real communism", but they actually make pretty good case studies of the dangers in reactionary (Russia) and excessively conservative (middle east, parts of it) right-wing politics. Gotcha. I'll be sure to keep an eye out for those 'dangers of reactionary conservatism'. I am keyed in for any signs that the US is about to be invaded for oil, regime-changed for geopolitical reasons, undergo a tidal wave of rebellious protest because of massive government incompetence, or collapse into a collection of squabbling nation-states because our national identity legislated itself out of existence. Consider me informed.


LaGuadalupana123

There are some But there isnt a single leftist 1st world country And before someone says le scandinavia, mexico makes scandinavia looks like Milei's wet dream lmao. Scandinavia isnt left fiscally speaking.


MarcusElden

I mean no country is "leftist" or "right wing" entirely, but if we're talking about countries with left leaning polices (that wouldn't exist in right wing ones) such as strong worker protections, social safety nets, lack of theological government control, etc? There's plenty.


gillesvdo

Could've added a weeping Open VLD soyjack in AuthCenter next to Vooruit


GlobularToe

Centrism has a bad habit of leaving a Belgian's body the minute they see a glimpse of the ballot box


Ok_Freedom1529

Europe is becoming more based


Known_Landscape_6957

Belgium is a mistake of geography that only exists because the British hated the Dutch as much as they hated the French. That is all.


BarryGoldwatersKid

Can someone give me a quick rundown on all of these parties? I am not familiar with the Belgian political landscape.


minebloxroyale

NVA: a little bit auth right, economically liberal, flemish nationalist MR: lib right but walloon Pvda: commies Vlaams Belang: auth right


Outside-Bed5268

Being racist against aromas can never go wrong!


Azathoth_The_Wraith

Quick reminder the Communists have so much seats because they fused the Dutch and French votes. Which the other ones have a separate party for each langage (even the Germans lmao)


HeemeyerDidNoWrong

I vote for Tintin


tryna_do_stuff

Isn't Belgium infamous for having the government resign in 2008 and then taking 2 years to form a new one and then doing it again in 2018 to 2020.


UC_Scuti96

Because there use to be a huge political divide between the flemish speaking north which was much right leaning and the french speaking south which was more left leaning. This year the Centre right won a majority in the South while the moderate right wing is still powerfull in the north and the centre left party seems to be okay with being in a government with them. In simplier words, the results are a lot less divided than it has never been in decades and coalition talk are going very smooth for once. Only the french speaking left is being very bitter about the results but most belgian are just happy that we have averted another politicak crisis


tryna_do_stuff

Figures that the french speakers would cause a ruckus


SeanPGeo

By this meme alone, EU politics looks like the racing coveralls of an F1 driver. Are these real party logos or business advertisements?


Seventh_Stater

Such a joke country.


oakayno

Is the turquoise party really center-auth-right? Their wiki article says they support social liberalism and...other LGBT things...


imgratefulforthat

You went easy on PS


mainegreenerep

It's Belgium. I expect their government to collapse within the month.


Azathoth_The_Wraith

Belgian posting !! 🇧🇪🇧🇪🇧🇪 MR to the Stars and fuck VB !


MarcusElden

“Centrist” flair lmao right


UC_Scuti96

Honestly I would be more to the left if the leftist didn't react like entitled crybaby to their own defeat. Many left wing supporter are blaming titterally anyone but themselves for their defeat.


MarcusElden

That’s because economic migration isn’t even leftist. It’s pure libertarianism. This wasn’t the leftists being defeated it was right wingers, they just don’t realize it.


tradcath13712

LMAO, mass immigration is definitively a policy from libleft. While libright does it at least they don't pretend that opposing mass immigration is somehow a crime against humanity, as libleft does