Projet de loi modifiant la loi du 4 juillet 1989 relative à la limitation et au contrôle des dépenses électorales engagées pour les élections des Chambres fédérales, ainsi qu'au financement et à la comptabilité ouverte des partis politiques afin de geler les dotations allouées aux partis politiques pour les années budgétaires 2012 et 2013.
General information ¶
- Authors
-
CD&V
Raf
Terwingen
LE Catherine Fonck
MR Daniel Bacquelaine
PS | SP Thierry Giet
Vooruit Karin Temmerman - Submission date
- Jan. 26, 2012
- Official page
- Visit
- Status
- Adopted
- Requirement
- Simple
- Subjects
- party financing
Voting ¶
- Voted to adopt
- Groen CD&V Vooruit Ecolo LE PS | SP Open Vld N-VA LDD MR VB
- Voted to reject
- ∉
Contact form ¶
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Discussion ¶
Feb. 2, 2012 | Plenary session (Chamber of representatives)
Full source
Rapporteur Koenraad Degroote ⚙
Mr. Speaker, colleagues, it is a bill for the freezing of allocations granted through the House to political parties in 2012 and 2013. This bill was treated with extreme urgency. The proposal was considered last week. Everyone has accepted the urgency and this week it was on the agenda of the Committee on Home Affairs. The bill can now be discussed in the plenary session.
The content is very simple. The grants granted through the Chamber to political parties would not be indexed in 2012 and 2013. This had to be done urgently because an indexation will take place in March 2012. It is intended to develop a similar arrangement for the Senate so that that operation will bring about 1 million euros of savings for 2012 and 2013.
Everyone in the committee supported this proposal because everyone believes that this is the good example that should be given by politicians.
Per ⁇ I can make a small note on behalf of the N-VA. We support this proposal. We regretted that it was not communicated to all parties in advance because it concerns all parties. The debate on the retirement of the members of parliament has been opened. The more stakeholders can give their opinions, the more interesting the ideas that can come up. This may be a tip for the future. If such subjects are still being discussed, it may be interesting to keep the discussion as broad as possible.
On the other hand, we are pleased to see that in fact all parties, not one exception, have accepted an index jump here. A two-year index jump was accepted by all parties.
On behalf of N-VA, I hope that this provides perspectives to put this discussion on the agenda in a broad context on the socio-economic field, so that it can finally be clearly discussed with everyone, so that ⁇ a consensus can be reached.
May this be the forerunner of more clarity and less confusion.
Laurent Louis ∉ ⚙
Mr. Speaker, be reassured, I will not be long, but I wanted to speak for a few minutes in order to explain my party’s position on the public allocations that are granted to political parties.
Of course, I can only welcome the legitimate decision of this Parliament not to index, over the next two years, the amounts allocated to political parties. This is a natural decision, given the economic situation in our country.
However, I will not be able to support this proposal for a simple reason: the amounts allocated to political parties are simply indecent. In fact, in 2012, more than 10 million euros of public money will be graciously offered to the political parties of this assembly. It is simply scandalous and nonsense! Moreover, this money is often wasted while it could be used for social projects, to improve, for example, the daily life of our fellow citizens. Imagine what you can do with 10 million euros!
Instead, this money serves to ensure the often costly lifestyle of political parties and to guarantee the sacro-saint clientelism of which we are specialists in Belgium.
You may not know it, but before creating my own party which, I recall, tries to compete with the mastodontes of this Parliament, without touching the slightest public money, I was, for a long time, a member of the MR. I was able to see how much that money could be wasted: ultramodern buildings, unnecessary jobs, a staff sometimes paid to do nothing, receptions, grandchildren, champagne, high-tech gadgets, etc. And if this is the case for the MR, I dare not imagine what is going on with the Socialist Party!
You will have understood, I am fundamentally opposed to the amounts paid to the parties, to the system of grants as it exists today and which, in my opinion, is deeply inequal, allowing the big parties to always earn more money and thus illegally compete with any new popular movement that tries to emerge within society.
This logic is for me antidemocratic, because it continues to create inequality between the different parties by privileging the existing parties at the expense of emerging parties.
It’s actually a great system, I admit, you played well. Traditional parties have found an excellent system to secure and guarantee their power. However, I already hear the criticism; know that it is not jealousy that speaks to this tribune. Honestly, I am proud not to touch a dotation. I am proud that my party is fighting to try to make its voice heard without touching a single euro. It is important to remind him. Every day, we try to make sacrifices and find solutions to perform quality work, even if you do not judge it as such, without spending any public money.
All parties should do the same. This would be good for everyone, and above all for the finances of our country. Every day, the MLD fights in this assembly by reproducing David’s fight against Goliath. We are proud of the results we have achieved despite the circumstances. So, you have understood, I will vote against this bill, not to oppose the non-indexation of these allocations, but to oppose the overall system of public financing of political parties. This system, according to my party, is totally antidemocratic.