Christian Social Party (Belgium, 1945)

For the late 19th century Belgian political party, see Christene Volkspartij.

The Christian Social Party (French: Parti Social Chrétien, or PSC; Dutch: Christelijke Volkspartij, CVP) was a major centre-right political party in Belgium which existed from 1945 until 1968.

Christian Social Party—Christian People's Party Christelijke Volkspartij Parti Social Chrétien
Francophone logo, used c.1958
Historical leaders	Jean Duvieusart (first) Jean-Charles Snoy et d'Oppuers (last)
Founded	August 18, 1945 (1945-08-18)
Dissolved	1968 (1968)
Preceded by	Catholic Block
Succeeded by	Christelijke Volkspartij (CVP), Parti social chrétien (PSC)
Headquarters	Brussels, Belgium
Ideology	Christian democracy Pro-Europeanism
Political position	Centre[1][2]
European affiliation	Christian Democrat group
International affiliation	Christian Democrat International
Colours	Orange   Black
Politics of Belgium Political parties Elections

Established as the successor to the pre-war Catholic Block, the PSC-CVP was established after the Liberation of Belgium with an explicitly "deconfessionalised" orientation in the Christian Democratic tradition.^[3] It remained the largest party in Belgian politics throughout much of its existence and was the last party in Belgian history to gain an outright majority in the 1950 elections. It provided a number of influential prime ministers and participated in most coalition governments in combination with the Belgian Socialist Party and the Liberal Party or its successor the Party for Freedom and Progress.

Amid rising regionalist tensions, the PSC-CVP's regional parties split along linguistic lines in 1968 to form the Francophone Christian Social Party (Parti Social Chrétien, PSC) and Flemish Christian People's Party (Christelijke Volkspartij, CVP).

History

At the end of World War II, on 18–19 August 1945 the Parti Social Chrétien-Christelijke Volkspartij (CVP-PSC) was founded under the presidency of August de Schryver as the successor to the Catholic Party.

In 1968, the party divided along linguistic lines, forming the Francophone Christian Social Party (Parti Social Chrétien) in Wallonia and the Flemish Christian People's Party (Christelijke Volkspartij) in Flanders.^[4][5]

Election results

Chamber of Representatives

Election	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Position	Government
1946	1,006,293	42.5	92 / 202	19	1st	Opposition
1949	2,190,895	43.6	105 / 212	13	1st	Christian Social-Liberal coalition
1950	2,356,608	47.7	108 / 212	3	1st	Majority government
1954	2,123,408	41.2	95 / 212	13	1st	Opposition
1958	2,465,549	46.5	104 / 212	9	1st	Minority government until November 1958, later Christian Social-Liberal coalition
1961	2,182,642	41.5	96 / 212	8	1st	Christian Social-Socialist coalition
1965	1,785,211	34.5	77 / 212	19	1st	Christian Social-Socialist coalition until March 1966, later Christian Social-Liberal coalition
1968	1,643,785	31.8	69 / 212	8	1st	Christian Social-Socialist coalition

Notable members

• Jean Duvieusart
• Gaston Eyskens
• Pierre Harmel
• Théo Lefèvre
• Joseph Pholien
• Paul Vanden Boeynants
• Jean Van Houtte
• Count Jean Charles Snoy et d'Oppuers

See also

• Politics of Belgium
• Christene Volkspartij
• Graves de communi re
• Rerum novarum

References

1. Keefe, Eugene K.; et al. (1974). Area Handbook for Belgium (1st ed.). U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 141.
2. Cerulus, Laurens (4 January 2017). "The party that's pulling the Belgian left to the left". Politico. …centrist Christian-Democrats all split into Flemish and French-speaking parties in the late 1960s and 70s.
3. Kees van Kersbergen; Philip Manow (6 April 2009). Religion, Class Coalitions, and Welfare States. Cambridge University Press. pp. 21–. ISBN 978-0-521-89791-4. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
4. Emiel Lamberts (1 January 1997). Christian Democracy in the European Union, 1945/1995: Proceedings of the Leuven Colloquium, 15-18 November 1995. Leuven University Press. pp. 65–. ISBN 978-90-6186-808-8. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
5. Daniele Caramani (29 March 2004). The Nationalization of Politics: The Formation of National Electorates and Party Systems in Western Europe. Cambridge University Press. pp. 308–. ISBN 978-0-521-53520-5. Retrieved 2 August 2013.

Further reading

• Lamberts, Emiel (2004). "The Zenith of Christian Democracy: The Christelijke Volkspartij/Parti Social Chrétien in Belgium". In Michael Gehler; Wolfram Kaiser (eds.). Christian Democracy in Europe since 1945. Routledge. pp. 59–73. ISBN 0-7146-5662-3.
• Beke, Wouter (2005). De ziel van een zuil. De Christelijke Volkspartij 1945-1968. Leuven: Leuven University Press. ISBN 9789058674982.
• Conway, Martin (1996). "Belgium". In Buchanan, Tom; Conway, Martin (eds.). Political Catholicism in Europe, 1918–1965. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 187–218. ISBN 9780198203193.

External links

• Archives of Christian Social Party in ODIS - Online Database for Intermediary Structures Archived 2016-04-28 at the Wayback Machine