Humanist Democratic Centre ( French : Centre Démocrate Humaniste , CDH) was a Christian democratic and centrist French-speaking political party in Belgium . The party originated in the split in 1972 of the unitary Christian Social Party (PSC-CVP) which had been the country's governing party for much of the post-war period. It continued to be called the Christian Social Party ( French : Parti Social Chrétien , PSC) until 2002 when it was renamed the Humanist Democratic Centre. It was refounded as Les Engagés in 2022.
12-614: The PSC was officially founded in 1972. The foundation was the result of the split of the unitary Christian Social Party (PSC-CVP) into the Dutch-speaking Christian People's Party (CVP) and the French-speaking Christian Social Party (PSC), following the increased linguistic tensions after the crisis at the Catholic University of Leuven in 1968. A similar split already happened in 1936 when
24-807: The 2004 regional elections the party returned to power in Brussels, in Walloon Region and the French Community together with the Socialist Party and Ecolo in Brussels, and with the Socialist Party in Walloon Region and the French Community. In the 2007 general elections , the party won 10 out of 150 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and two out of 40 seats in the Senate . In the 2010 general elections ,
36-611: The Catholic Bloc split into the dutchophone Catholic Flemish People's Party and francophone Catholic Social Party . The PSC performed particularly badly in the 1999 general election . This was linked to several scandals, such as the escape of Marc Dutroux and the discovery of dioxine in chickens (the PSC was a coalition partner in the Dehaene government ). The decline in votes was also explained by declining adherence to Catholicism . The party
48-751: The Francophone Christian Social Party ( Parti Social Chrétien ) in Wallonia and the Flemish Christian People's Party ( Christelijke Volkspartij ) in Flanders . This article about a Belgian political party is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . 1950 Belgian general election G. Eyskens I CVP/PSC - Lib Duvieusart Christian Social General elections were held in Belgium on 4 June 1950. The result
60-548: The Francophone Christian Social Party ( Parti Social Chrétien , PSC) and Flemish Christian People's Party ( Christelijke Volkspartij , CVP). 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
72-695: 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
84-592: The party lost one seat in the Chamber and kept its two seats in the Senate, a result which was repeated in the 2014 general elections . In the 2019 general elections the party registered its worst ever performance, winning only 5 seats and 3.7% of the vote, as well as its worst performance in the Walloon and Brussels parliaments as part of the general trend of Belgians turning away from the traditional political parties. Its ideology
96-524: The public and politicians. CVP/PSC PSC cdH Until 1968 this lists gives the president of the Walloon part of the unitary CVP/PSC. The party changed its name from PSC to cdH on 18 May 2002. Results for the Chamber of Representatives , in percentages for the Kingdom of Belgium. Christian Social Party (Belgium, defunct) The Christian Social Party ( French : Parti Social Chrétien , or PSC ; Dutch : Christelijke Volkspartij , CVP )
108-468: Was "democratic humanism, inspired by personalism inherited notably from Christian humanism" which includes a centre-left policy towards the economy, supporting state interventionism and calling for the unity of Belgium, while also containing a centre-right faction on social issues and supporting tougher measures on crime. Presently, the party considers itself to be a movement rather than a party, and calls for citizen-led initiatives and more engagement between
120-516: Was a major centre-right political party in Belgium which existed from 1945 until 1968. 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. It remained the largest party in Belgian politics throughout much of its existence and was
132-648: Was a victory for the Christian Social Party , which won 108 of the 212 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 54 of the 106 seats in the Senate . Voter turnout was 92.6%. This election was the last one in Belgian history where a single party achieved an absolute majority. Elections for the nine provincial councils were also held. The elections took place a few months after the divisive referendum on returning King Leopold III from exile and restoring his monarchial duties (the Royal Question ). Following
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#1733093354878144-402: Was confined to opposition on all levels of government. The party started a process of internal reform. In 2001 a new charter of principles, the "Charter of Democratic Humanism," was adopted and in 2002 the party adopted a new constitution and a new name, Humanist Democratic Centre. In the 2003 general election the party did not perform much better and was still confined to opposition. After
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