ABSTRACT
Belgium is infamous for its social and political schisms and in particular for the regional divide between Flemings and Walloons. The political divisions of Belgian society have particularly affected the working class. The Belgian socialist labour movement has become one of the major political forces in Belgium and even a model for socialists in other countries, but it never managed to get a majority of Belgian workers behind it. Lod Wils touches upon an important phenomenon that needs to be revealed, the regional alliances of the labour movement. In 1980, a new constitutional revision settled some enduring community disputes, profoundly changing the institutional shape of Belgium and introducing a special kind of federalism. Contrary to what is often easily assumed, the regional dimension has had a considerable impact on the labour movement in Belgium, and its impact is even likely to increase.
