Articles

Belgian politics in 1988

Author
  • Ivan Couttenier

Abstract

During the first Jour months of 1988, Belgium witnessed the painstaking formation of the Martens VIII center-left Cabinet. In October 1987, the Christian Democratic-Liberal Martens VI Cabinet had been forced to resign over the perennial Fourons affairs. After the parliamentary elections of December 1987 which had resulted in a Socialist victory, the center-left Martens VIII Cabinet was
sworn in on May 9, 1989, marking the end of a political crisis which had lasted 147 days; i.e., the longest crisis in Belgian history. During the remaining months of 1988, the new Government sought parliamentary approval for its ambitious constitutional reform program, having very little time left for continuing the economie recovery policy started under the Martens VI Cabinet.
During the second half of 1988, relations between Belgium and Zaire deteriorated.

How to Cite:

Couttenier, I., (1989) “Belgian politics in 1988”, Res Publica 31(3), 302-328. doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/rp.v31i3.18864

Downloads:
Download pdf
View PDF

240 Views

15 Downloads

Published on
29 Sep 1989
Peer Reviewed
License