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Dissecting the 'Expat Survey': Brussels politics

16:47 19/07/2013

As Belgium prepares to welcome a new king to the throne, questions will inevitably be asked of Philippe's ability to show the same diplomatic skills as his father in the minefield that is Belgian politics. In 2010 and 2011 the country infamously went 541 days without a government, and Albert's patience was severely tested.

Members of the expatriate community, therefore, would be forgiven for not being fully au fait with the workings of Belgium's political system and myriad regional assemblies or for being put off by the whole process. Yet, as the findings of the 'Political participation' part of the Brussels-Europe Liaison Office's Survey about the Life of the International Community in Brussels shows, the reality can be somewhat surprising.

Do you recognise the Iris, the emblem of the Brussels Capital region?

That's nearly two-thirds and, chances are, if the same question was asked to Belgians living in Brussels, the results would be better, but not by that much. Among respondents who have lived in Brussels for more than 10 years, 77.6% are familiar with the iris and what it stands for.

To what extent are you interested in...

In all categories, the longer respondents have lived in Belgium, the more pronounced their interest. Still, the figures for local / municipal and regional politics are not great. Interest in Belgian politics is bigger than in Brussels politics, which in turn is greater than in municipal politics. Interestingly, respondents are more interested in European and international politics than in their country of origin.

Why didn't you vote in the local elections of 2006? *

To the preliminary question ("Did you vote in the munipal elections of 2006?"), 15.3% answered that they did, while 84.7% said they didn't. The biggest obstacle to non-Belgians voting in local elections (the only elections they can vote in) is the fear of Belgium's compulsory voting system, which is seen as a constraint by a staggering 49% or respondents. The figure dwarfs the second-highest reason for not voting, which is a lack of interest (20%).

* The question was only put to non-Belgian respondents. The survey was conducted in May and June 2012, i.e. before the most recent local election. 

If non-Belgian EU citizens got the right to vote in regional elections, would you vote?

Yeses and maybes (let us view the glass as half-full) total 83%, which is amazingly high. The yeses alone are just under 45% - an impressive showing. Again, Belgian respondents wouldn't necessarily fare that much better. Bizarrely, people who have lived here for less than two years show a greater 'clear' intention to vote than people who have lived here for a long time. But the figure increases again among those who have lived here for more than 10 years. It is important to bear in mind that the question, for the time being, remains hypothetical.

Why would you not take part in regional elections?

And guess what the major obstacle would be? That's right - the compulsory voting system.  However, this fear is only present among 12.9% of respondents who have lived here for less than two years. Lack of interest (a massive 42%) is more than twice as high as for the local / municipal elections - definitely something for the Region to be worried about. The biggest surprise, to native Brusselers at least, is the particularly low (10.2%) percentage of respondents who claim to find the process complicated!

Written by PM Doutreligne