ABSTRACT
Governing in Belgium means coalition government, and this from the federal down to the local level. This chapter discusses the procedures and rules for such coalition formation in Belgium. It provides readers with the necessary details about this complex process to understand why it has become an increasingly difficult and lengthy process. The chapter explains how the multiple-party systems, electoral levels, as well as electoral movements and swings, make not only forming a government a difficult task, but also render the subsequent functioning of the coalition a challenging task. It explains why and how most coalition governments nonetheless last, and what explains their interruption by periods of rapid successions of new coalitions. So doing, this chapter emphasizes the central role party leaders play in the entire process and the rather docile and loyal role reserved for MPs.
