On Wednesday, May 8, the House will approve the declaration to revise the constitution. Parliament then automatically dissolves itself and the election campaign starts. The document must contain all articles that are declared subject to revision and that the next parliament can therefore amend. But just like five years ago, the discussion is difficult. The meeting of the Committee for Revision of the Constitution has already been canceled twice, and on Friday the Kern will consider the list for a second time in the hope of defusing the matter.
None of this is necessary for Open VLD. The party believes it is sufficient to declare only Article 195 subject to review. It is the key that allows other articles that are not subject to revision to be amended. Constitutional specialists shudder at this, they believe that the method violates the constitution. Open VLD chairman Tom Ongena shrugs: “It is indeed an emergency procedure. It is purer to work with a concrete list of articles, but the discussion should mainly be about the content.”
Patrick Dewael, former chairman of the House and outgoing Member of Parliament, does not take seriously Groen’s criticism, which does not want Article 195 to be abused. “I’m less interested in the color of the cat. The constitution is seen too much as an instrument of state reform. We do not want to go to castles, Open VLD wants a government as soon as possible. We will lose too much time if we make the formation of a government dependent on a constitutionally anchored state reform.”
No government money for worship services
The Limburger once again defends his proposal to have the constitution preceded by a preamble. “A constitution mainly refers to rights and freedoms. The US Constitution begins with ‘We, the People…‘, the Belgian one with ‘Belgium is a federal state with regions and communities.’ Then the students say: ‘Well, next chapter then.’ During the previous legislature, the green, red and blue families saw value in such a preamble. The Christian Democrats did not like it because it made the separation between church and state explicit.”
Furthermore, the right of the individual to his physical integrity should be included in the constitution, according to Open VLD. Ongena: “Our ancestors wrote a very liberal constitution. But in Europe there is growing fear that rights such as abortion and euthanasia are being rolled back. A 21st century constitution must take this into account. The right to self-determination deserves a place in the constitution, here we as liberals must stand on the barricades.”
Dewael adds: “Wherever the extreme right or extreme conservatives come to power, they violate these rights. That’s why we need to anchor this.” Under the heading of more freedoms, the liberals also want to overhaul government financing of worship services and the mandatory hours of philosophy of life at school. Ongena: “That was once a deal between Catholics and liberals. We are two hundred years later. Faith is a private matter.”
Democratic reforms are the second part of an amended constitution. In addition to the abolition of the Senate, this concerns the abolition of compulsory attendance, the introduction of a federal electoral district and the right to vote from the age of sixteen.
Open VLD attaches particular importance to the introduction of a federal electoral district. Open VLD submitted a bill to appoint twenty MPs in such a federal constituency. Dewael: “It provides the opportunity to assess politicians on the other side of the language border. I am constantly challenged about this. ‘Why can’t we judge Paul Magnette, or a Walloon about Alexander De Croo?’
Ongena criticizes the “hypocrisy of the N-VA”. “They are against a federal electoral district, but they submit lists everywhere in Wallonia. Or do they only do that to benefit additionally from party financing?”
Open VLD has now abandoned the idea of limiting government formation in time. In practice, a number of potential solutions are more difficult than expected. Ongena: “The ideal formula does not exist. The fragmentation of the parties also makes formation more difficult. But the king already has a certain freedom. That helps.”
Political innovation
Vivaldi’s coalition agreement included a chapter on political innovation. The mountain eventually gave birth to a mouse. Dewael: “The formation had to go too fast. And, I admit, the south of the country didn’t feel like it. A next coalition agreement must contain binding agreements on how we shape this change to the constitution.”
Ongena: “It was successful in Flanders. The government has abolished compulsory attendance for municipal elections and introduced the semi-direct election of the mayor. We had discussed everything carefully during the government negotiations. We will see what the voter says and whether we will participate in the negotiating tablesit fiercely.”
