ABSTRACT

Belgian politics seemed to have become synonymous with corruption, scandal and policy failure in the 1990s (Maesschalck 2002). The murder of socialist politician André Cools in 1991 marked the start of a scandal-ridden decade. The investigation into his killing led to the discovery of the Agusta– Dassault corruption scandal over bribes that had been paid in the procurement of helicopters for the military. The scandal caused the indictment of several politicians and forced the resignation of NATO Secretary-General and former Belgian Vice-Prime Minister Willy Claes. The Dutroux scandal in the mid-1990s had an even greater impact on the country’s national mood and international image. The perceived incompetence of the police and the judiciary in dealing with a major paedophilia and child murder case led to massive popular outrage, reaching a peak in the ‘White March’ in Brussels: the largest protest march in Belgian post-war history. In 1999, it appeared that the administration had been unable to detect or prevent contamination of poultry, leading to the so-called dioxin scandal. Since the scandal emerged just before the elections, it contributed to a historic shift in the ruling coalition, with the Christian Democrats moving to the opposition benches for the first time in decades. These are just a few illustrations of the size and the impact of scandals in 1990s Belgium.