This permeability is also observed within federated entities. The multiplication of directly elected assemblies (from 2 – the Chamber and the Senate – to 6 at the present time) which was the result of the process of federalization has modified the arc of development associated with the careers of politicians; this was underlined by Jean-Benoit Pilet (ULB) and Stefaan Fiers (KULeuven) in their analysis of the careers of members of Parliament in Belgium. If there ever was a time when election to the Federal government was considered to be the apogee of a political career, this time seems to have passed, at least in part. Belgium today has a constitution that distinguishes between Federal and regional members of Parliament, and there are very few cases of passage from one level to the other. “Only a minority of regional deputies become members of the Senate or the Chamber of Representatives, and only a very small number of Federal representatives (deputies) or Senators later become representatives in regional parliaments”, according to these scholars.

We may add that it is not rare for elected officials to show up on ballots in elections for offices at a different level from the one they currently hold – offices which they may have no intention of assuming, should they win the election. The lack of regulation in this area causes much confusion among elected officials and also among voters, who may find that they had voted for someone who has no intention of taking up the office. Pilet and Fiers also emphasize that a Federal system must find a proper equilibrium between autonomy and coordination, between common interests and particular ones. Mobility for politicians is properly considered a part of this equilibrium. “In fact, when an elected official takes a seat in an assembly he or she learns to understand the interests of the entity that he or she represents, and develops relationships with other members of the assembly at the same level of government. These two achievements can go with the representative if he or she is elected to an office at a different level of the government, and this oils the gears of Federalism”, they write. In the absence of such lubrication, it is not surprising that the gears seize up so often…

Hidden face

After all is said and done, what do the people think of such a succession of crises? Do the political claims that are put forward in a crisis correspond to the real demands of the people? Not always, if we can credit the analysis carried out by André-Paul Frognier and Lieven De Winter (UCL), based on opinion surveys that were conducted between 1970 and 2007. In the final chapter of the book, they observe that the installation of Federalism in Belgium was not only something that corresponded to the desires of the Flemish people; it was also desired by many Walloons. Astonishingly, Belgian federalism has not caused the population to think of itself as belonging less to Belgium and more to Flanders, Wallonia or Brussels. “In the three Regions, the ‘Belgican’ position came in first, and in proportions that did not differ very greatly by Region”, according to these authors. In their conclusion, they claim to reveal “one of the (hidden) faces of Belgian politics”, and they compare the aspirations of the people to the expectations of the political elites. This confrontation appears to produce a “democratic deficit” in the sense that the pro-Belgian segment of the population of Flanders cannot find a significant political party that is willing to defend such a conception of Belgian federalism”.

This is unlikely to slow down the development of Belgian federalism in the future. Will that future adopt some form of “confederalism”, to use a term that is frequently and strategically employed by some Flemish parties? The elections of May 2014 should provide some answer to this question at the level of Belgian national politics. If this possibility becomes a reality, it will be another new wrinkle added by Belgium to the definition of federalism as it is known in the world today. Existing examples of confederations are the result of the unification of independent States, or of sovereign states that conserve their sovereignty. In other words, these confederations are the result of centripetal forces – not centrifugal forces, as is the case with Belgium. Politically speaking, it is certainly the case that “le plat pays” is anything but typical.