History and Future
After the Belgian Revolution, the National Congress decided about the Belgian Constitution and the state structure. A bicameral Parliament was chosen over a unicameral one, due to fears of more democratic and progressive decisions in the Chamber of Representatives, as was seen in France. Thus the Senate served as a more conservative and elite body. To be eligible, one had to pay 1000 florins, which meant that at that time, only about 4000 persons could be elected.
In the past, French was the sole language of government in Belgium. In 1913, the liberal Emmanuel De Cloedt spoke for the first time in history Dutch in the Senate, which the French-speaking pro-catholic newspaper La Libre Belgique described as séparatisme parlementaire ("parliamentary separatism").
The Flemish nationalist party New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) (which became the largest party in 2010), among other Flemish parties, said in 2010 that they want to abolish the Senate. The French-speaking parties, however, want to keep the Senate. During the 2010–2011 Belgian government formation, it has been decided that the Senate would no longer be directly elected and instead become a meeting place for members of the various regional parliaments.
Read more about this topic: Senate (Belgium)
Famous quotes containing the words history and, history and/or future:
“All history and art are against us, but we still expect happiness in love.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“The history of medicine is the history of the unusual.”
—Robert M. Fresco, and Jack Arnold. Prof. Gerald Deemer (Leo G. Carroll)
“The primary function of myth is to validate an existing social order. Myth enshrines conservative social values, raising tradition on a pedestal. It expresses and confirms, rather than explains or questions, the sources of cultural attitudes and values.... Because myth anchors the present in the past it is a sociological charter for a future society which is an exact replica of the present one.”
—Ann Oakley (b. 1944)