47 years old. That is the average age of a Flemish candidate on a parliamentary list in the elections of June 9. KU Leuven came to this conclusion, which screened all Flemish candidates for the parliamentary lists of the coming elections. The researchers went back to 1987 and found that the House of Representatives candidates were never as old as they are now. In 1987 the average was still 40.4 years. In 2024, female candidates are on average slightly older than their male colleagues: women are on average 47.8 years old, men 46.4 years old.
Even in the party that on average has the youngest candidates on its parliamentary lists, the age is now considerably higher: the average Open VLD member who stands for the Chamber is 44 years old. The average age of the Liberals has remained fairly constant over the past thirty years, but the candidates of all other parties have steadily aged since then.
The oldest candidate group is Vlaams Belang, where the average age is 52.5 years. Together with Agalev/Groen, Vlaams Belang is the party where the long-term aging trend is most pronounced. Both parties had an exceptionally young pool of candidates in 1987. The average age for both parties was under 40, and for Agalev even under 35. Thirty years later, the average Green candidate has become more than ten years older: 46.6 years. This finding is all the more remarkable because it previously appeared that Vlaams Belang and Groen are the two most popular parties among first voters, the youngest voters in Flanders.
It was already apparent in January that older candidates were being brought back on board. Traditional parties in particular brought retired thoroughbreds from the stable for their lists to appear one last time on June 9. For example, eighty-year-old Wivina De Meester (CD&V) pushes the parliamentary list in Antwerp. Socialist Louis Tobback, now 85, will be the list pusher for the successors to the Chamber in Flemish Brabant.
Each time it concerned celebrities with a rich political career, often from political dynasties, who were deployed because every vote counts for the traditional parties. The center parties had a hard time in the polls – the stakes are especially high for them on June 9.
Zipper system
Not only do candidates get older, they also become more masculine. However, since 2002, parties have been obliged to include an equal number of men and women on their lists. Since 1994, the two candidates at the top of their lists must each have a different gender. The question is: to what extent do women also get elective positions? According to the researchers, that trend increased from 1987 to 2019 (from 12.6 percent to 47.6 percent). But for the first time in more than thirty years, the percentage of women in eligible positions is falling again.
Even more striking, here again Green is among the worst students in the class. This time together with Vlaams Belang and Open VLD. CD&V is the best student in the class. The Christian Democrats have more female than male party leaders. Moreover, the party applied the zip system across the entire list in these elections. Women and men always alternate across the entire list.
Tags: Flemish candidates parliamentary list
