The region of Wallonia no longer plays in the second division
The results showed that neither of these starting hypotheses applied. At least this was the case in Wallonia. In Catalonia and in Scotland the results were more clear-cut. “Over there the region is clearly in Division 1”, points out Jérémy Dodeigne. The region of Wallonia does not yet play in division 1 but does not quite play in division 2 either. “A third theory proved to be more accurate. With the increase in the levels of power, there is no longer only one political center but at least two”.
Such is the current situation. There are many explanations for this state of affairs. The identity factor remains important. What is the strength of nationalism in the territory concerned? We know that even if the south of the country contains some committed regionalists, the attachment to the federal state remains strong. This would not seem to be the case in Catalonia and Scotland, where political office at the national level is not coveted by native MPs who consider the national level to be too Spanish or English respectively. Furthermore, everything depends on the way the central powerbase integrates the peripheral territories. In other words, “political office at a national level will remain important as long as the MPs feel they have some influence there, including an influence over what happens in the regions”.
In Wallonia, as in Catalonia, elected representatives share one characteristic: their preoccupations are seen to be very local. The reason they take up office in the region is less to defend the interests of the region than to use it as a lever of influence for the benefit of their political entity. Priority is given to their own neck of the woods rather than to parliament. This can be explained first by the type of responsibilities in the hands of the region. Town and country planning, teaching, transport, accommodation, sport…All these services influence the daily lives of municipalities much more than the judicial system, pensions, foreign affairs or external commerce which are federal matters. Then practice of holding multiple political offices, which was possible for mayors up to 2014, adds another layer. How can a mayor be prevented from drawing unlimited benefits from taking the lion’s share for his town?
Local champions
Local champions understand the mechanics of elections very well. On electoral lists, these local champions, the beneficiaries of preferential votes-are advantageously well-positioned so as to be elected. Once they take up their posts, they try to further increase their local political base by being “the bearers of good news” in their municipalities. A vicious or virtuous circle depending on one’s point of view.
Nonetheless, since 2014, mayors (at least some of them in any case) have to decide between one political office or another. Even though, in actual fact many of them find ways to keep a hand in at all levels… So be it. “This decree against multiple-office holding could be an opportunity”, considers Jérémy Dodeigne. “We can imagine that the electoral reward will be regional from here on, even though the weight of tradition could be brought to bear on the situation. Also, many former federal deputies have ended up in the region since the last elections but they have a different experience”. Clearly, there is no question of putting the preoccupations of Mont-de-l’Enclus or Fexhe-le-Haut-Clocher on the table of the chamber. “Given the community context, the deputy is present more in order to defend his minister, he is especially required to act as a shield for his group or to spearhead an attack whereas in a regional context, he is on his own most of the time”.
