Humanist Democratic Centre
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Centre démocrate humaniste | |
|---|---|
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| Leader | Joëlle Milquet |
| Political Ideology | Christian Democracy |
| Founded | 2002 |
| Earlier name(s) | PSC and CVP/PSC |
| International Affiliation | Christian Democrat International |
| European Affiliation | European People's Party |
| European Parliament Group | EPP-ED |
| Cartel | none |
| Flemish counterpart | CD&V |
| German-speaking counterpart | CSP |
| Website | www.lecdh.be |
| Headquarters | national secretariat Rue de Deux Eglises / Tweekerkenstraat 41, Brussels |
| Colours | Orange/Black |
| See also | Politics of Belgium Politics of Flanders Politics of the Walloon Region |
The Humanist Democratic Centre (French: Centre démocrate humaniste or cdH) is a Belgian Francophone christian democratic political party in Wallonia. It currently participates in the governments of Brussels-Capital Region, the French Community of Belgium and the Walloon Region.
[edit] History
The party was founded in 1972. The foundation was the result of split of the unitary Parti Social-Chrétien/Christelijke Volkspartij (in English: Social Christian Party/Christian People's Party) in the Dutch-speaking Christian People's Party and the French-speaking Christian Social Party (PSC), following the increased linguistic tensions after the crisis at the university of Leuven in 1968.
The PSC performed particularly bad in the 1999 election. This linked to several scandals, such as the escape of Marc Dutroux and the discovery of dioxine in for-consumption chickens (the PSC was a coalition partner in the Dehaene government). The decline in votes was also linked to declining adherence to Catholicism. The party was confined to opposition on a levels of government.
The party started a process of internal reform. In 2001 a new charter of principles the "Charter of Democratic Humanism" was adopted and 2002 the party adopted a new constitution and a new name, Humanist Democratic Centre.
In the 2003 election the party did not perform much better and was still confined to opposition. After the 2004 regional elections the party returned to power in Brussels, in Wallonia and the French Community together with the Socialist Party and Ecolo in Brussels and with the Socialist Party in Wallonia and the French community. The current president of the party is Joëlle Milquet.
[edit] Ideology
Its ideology is a mix of Christian-inspired humanism, combined with a centrist policy towards the economy, supporting state interventionism and calling for the unity of Belgium.
[edit] External links
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| Flemish : CD&V | Groen! | List Dedecker | N-VA | SP.A | Spirit | Vlaams Belang | VLD | VLOTT | |
| Francophone : CDh | Ecolo | FN | MR | PS | |
| German : CSP | PDB | PFF | |
| Bilingual : Belgische Unie/Union Belge | PVDA–PTB | MAS–LSP | LCR–SAP | |
