Vooruit (political party)

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The party was the big winner in the 2003 election, running on the SP.A–Spirit joint list (cartel) with the social-liberal party Spirit. Their share of the vote went up from 9% (of the total Belgian vote) to almost 15%, a second place in the number of votes. The main victim of this resurgence was the Green! party (formerly known as Agalev). SP.A was part of the "purple" federal coalitions of Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt from 12 July 1999 until 10 June 2007, which contained both the Flemish and Francophone liberal and social-democratic parties.

In 2004, the SP.A along with its partner Spirit lost the elections for the Flemish Parliament. Although they won more seats in comparison to the Flemish elections of 1999, their percentage of the vote compared to the successful 2003 federal elections was considerably down. The reputation of then party leader Steve Stevaert took a beating too.

The party was briefly led by Caroline Gennez, after former president Steve Stevaert left to become governor of Limburg. Johan Vande Lanotte, who served as Minister of the Budget in the federal Government, was elected President and resigned as minister to become President on 17 October 2005. He resigned 11 June 2007, after SP.A–Spirit lost the elections for the federal parliament of 10 June 2007.{{cite news |title=Vande Lanotte gooit handdoek in de ring |url=http://www.vrtnieuws.net/cm/vrtnieuws.net/verkiezingen07/nieuws/070611_Partijbureau_SPA |publisher=VRT |date=11 June 2007 |access-date=12 June 2007 |language=nl }} In these federal elections, the cartel won 14 out of 150 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 4 out of 40 seats in the Senate. Afterwards, Caroline Gennez was elected President by the party members.

As of May 2009, SP.A was in opposition in federal politics. Unlike its Francophone counterpart, the Socialist Party (PS), SP.A was not a participant in the Leterme II Government.

In January 2009, the party had apparently changed its name to Socialists and Progressive Differently (Dutch: Socialisten en Progressieven Anders). This name change was retracted and the party baseline was changed from Social Progressive Alternative (Dutch: Sociaal Progressief Alternatief) to Socialists and Progressive Differently (Dutch: Socialisten en Progressieven Anders).[http://www.gva.be/nieuws/politiek/default.asp?art={F2D5C1C8-1B00-4F24-B33B-61859E315549} Naam van sp.a verandert niet, begeleidende slogan wel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090120195402/http://www.gva.be/nieuws/politiek/default.asp?art=%7BF2D5C1C8-1B00-4F24-B33B-61859E315549%7D |date=20 January 2009 }} ("Sp.a name doesn't change, baseline does"), GvA, 17 January 2009

In the 2010 federal election, SP.A won 13 seats with 9% of the overall vote. The party was a member of the Di Rupo Government formed on 6 December 2011, until the elections in 2014. In the elections for the Chamber of Representatives on 25 May 2014, SP.A scored again 9% and received 13 seats, in contrast to their francophone Socialist Party counterparts, who lost 3 seats and whose share of the vote decreased by 2%. In the Flemish Parliament, SP.A have 18 representatives, deriving from around 14% of the vote—this is a small reduction on the 2009 parliament, where SP.A had 19 seats, deriving from 15% of the popular vote. From 2009–2014, SP.A participated in the Flemish Government, in an uneasy coalition with the CD & V and the N-VA. From 2014 onwards, SP.A formed part of the opposition in Flanders, as the regional government reflected the Flemish component of the federal administration, consisting of coalition of the Open-VLD, CD & V and the N-VA.

File:Vooruit, Back to the Climate 2021.jpg

In January 2018, the party advocated for a "new socialism" and a "new equality".{{cite news|url=https://www.rtbf.be/info/belgique/detail_le-sp-a-pour-un-nouveau-socialisme-de-nouvelles-egalites-et-une-nouvelle-protection?id=9817476|title=Le sp.a pour un "nouveau socialisme" et de "nouvelles égalités|agency=RTBF|language=fr|date=21 January 2018|access-date=16 May 2020}}{{cite news|url=https://www.levif.be/actualite/belgique/le-sp-a-pour-un-nouveau-socialisme/article-normal-787271.html|title=Le sp.a pour un "nouveau socialisme|newspaper=Le Vif/L'Express|language=fr|date=21 January 2018|access-date=16 May 2020}} In September 2020, party leader Conner Rousseau announced a renaming of the party to Vooruit ("Forward").{{cite web |last1=Arnoudt |first1=Rik |title=SP.A verandert binnenkort van naam en gaat "Vooruit" heten |url=https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2020/09/09/sp-a-verandert-binnenkort-van-naam-en-gaat-vooruit-heten/ |website=VRT NWS |access-date=4 January 2021 |language=nl |date=9 September 2020}} The new name was made official on 21 March 2021.

Vooruit is a centre-left{{cite book |author=Josep M. Colomer |author-link1=Josep Colomer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6S5JJkjpzf8C&pg=PA220 |title=Comparative European Politics |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-203-94609-1 |page=220}} Flemish social democratic party.{{cite web |last=Nordsieck |first=Wolfram |date=2019 |title=Flanders/Belgium |url=http://www.parties-and-elections.eu/flanders.html |access-date=2019-05-30 |website=Parties and Elections in Europe}}{{cite book |author=Hans Slomp |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LmfAPmwE6YYC&pg=PA465 |title=Europe, A Political Profile: An American Companion to European Politics |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-313-39182-8 |page=465}}{{cite book |author=Dimitri Almeida |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oD7bKbo0FYEC&pg=PT71 |title=The Impact of European Integration on Political Parties: Beyond the Permissive Consensus |publisher=CRC Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-136-34039-0 |page=71}}{{cite book |author1=Ari-Veikko Anttiroiko |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iDrTMazYhdkC&pg=PA397 |title=Encyclopedia of Digital Government |author2=Matti Mälkiä |publisher=Idea Group Inc (IGI) |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-59140-790-4 |page=397}}{{cite book |author1=Cas Mudde |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cRy2H220Gi4C&pg=PA27 |title=Populism in Europe and the Americas: Threat Or Corrective for Democracy? |author2=Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-107-02385-7 |page=27}} Equal opportunities and solidarity are central to the party. The party strives to ensure that those who earn the most or own the greatest wealth also pay the highest taxes so that the government can meet the needs of people who are less fortunate. Vooruit focuses on protecting the purchasing power of ordinary citizens. It opposes cuts in social security and advocates investment, especially in education and health care.{{Cite web|url=https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2024/03/11/vooruit-waar-staat-de-partij-voor/|title=Waar staat Vooruit voor?|publisher=VRT NWS|date=2024-04-15| language=nl}}{{Non-primary source needed|date=March 2025}}

File:BSP flag.png|Flag of BSP (1973–1978)

File:Socialistische Partij Belgie logo (1978-2001).png|Logo of Socialist Party (1978–2001)

File:Socialistische Partij Anders logo (2001–2010).svg|Logo of SP.A (2001–2010)

File:Socialistische Partij Anders logo.png|Logo of SP.A (2010–2018)

File:Socialistische Partij Anders logo (2018–present).png|Logo of SP.A (2018–2021)

File:Vooruit logo.svg|Logo of VOORUIT (2021–)

File:Vooruit vlag.png|Flag of Vooruit (2021–)

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° In Limburg, SP.A formed a cartel with Groen.

File:Kamer-1978-2014.png

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{{Reflist}}

• Johan Vande Lanotte (2010), Vlugschrift – over welvaart en geluk, ([http://www.ledenbeheer-s-p-a.be/Bestanden/site/vlugschrift_jvdl.pdf retrievable on the website sp.a-ledenbeheer]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}), 96 p., {{ISBN|978-90-486-0629-0}}.
• Patrick Vander Weyden, Koen Abts (2010), De basis spreekt — onderzoek naar de leden, mandatarissen en kiezers van sp.a (research on members sp.a by Ghent University), Acco (Leuven/Den Haag), 239 p., {{ISBN|978-90-334-7571-9}}.

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