Trade Union Mouvement in Belgium has never been an enduring structured entity. In pluralistic political systems, trade unions develop rather pragmatic relations and act as competitors. Economic recession determined the trade union strategy in the seventies: focus of the policy switches towards employment (instead of income and wages). ABVV (socialist trade union) and ACV (Chrisian trade union) cultivated different viewpoints concerning the solution of crisis, which resulted in a tense relationship. In the early eighties, relations sunk to the ultimate point of rare contacts, none or few common statements and many accusations. From 1982 on, cooperation grew again: contacts intensified and common actions got higher frequency again.

The first ten years of the autonomous francophone Christian Democratic Party (PSC) in Belgium has pro and cons. Positive elements are the accession to power of a new generation of leaders, the reorganisation through more participation, clearer relations towards the flemish Christian Democratic Party (CVP), an open mind towards an acceptable regionalization, an active role in creating the European Christian Democratic Party and the restructuring of municipal government. Negative elements are the absence of a federal party-structure between PSC and CVP and of a satisfactory state reform, and the missing of a centrist project of handling the economic crisis and of a decentralization in favour of the local powers.

During the seventies, the Belgian-Zairese relations are characterized by a series of crises and reconciliations. Many facts had an important effect on those relations: the « Zairianisation » of foreign, especially Belgian, companies; President Mobutu's request for economic aid; the Shaba-invasion of 1977; the presence of Zaïrese opponents in Belgium and the hostility against Kinshasa and especially against President Mobutu from the part of particular Belgian circles. All these facts make it very difficult to Belgium to draw a coherent policy in this case.

Although the method of Belgian budgeting and controlling has considerably improved during recent years, there still remain a lot of shortcommings such as: frequently late introduction into Parliament of the budget, inadequate information about expenditure, rarely application of zero base budgeting aften combined with techniques which embellish the budget. Debudgeting is the most important camouflage technique. Debudgeting appears in different manners and influences not only the height but also the evolution of the budget deficit. An improvement of the budgeting technique in Belgium doesn't ask fundamental changes of actual law. Just a switch in applicating the law according to the original spirit and interpretation of actual legislation, would be satisfactory to obtain an efficient and effective budget-policy.

As a result of economic crisis, it becomes very difficult to find a solution for conflicts of interests concerning redistribution. Nevertheless agreements between employers and trade unions remain important instruments. The financial and economic debate concerning conception and orientation of National Product is far from being wound up. Conflicts between social partners and government are seldom resolved.Moreover, the problems of « democratic participation » and « economic democracy » are waiting for a solution. In this debate trade unions are an indispensable discussion partner.

The employers, although small in size, dispose of an important influence in economic decision-making. Before the second world war, economic problems were exclusively dealt with by the government and the employers. After world war II, trade unions came more into relief. They were involved in consultations as athird partner. Consequently the impact of the employers faded somewhat. Currently the employers dispose of various channels to influence economic decision-making; e.g. contacts with civil servants, consultations in study centres of political parties, international relations, etc. Nevertheless the efficacy of employers's power is hindered by internal quarrel, strong individualism, and by the position of trade unions.

In 1987 the Martens center-right cabinet had to resign over the perennial Fourons issue. The many painstakingly reached compromises each time met strong opposition from the Francophone Social Christian Party (PSC) and its ministers on the government benches. Once the government resignation accepted by the King, Parliament was dissolved and elections were held. They resulted in a Socialist victory, and a personaldefeat for Prime Minister Martens. In the election aftermath, a cabinet of Christian Democrats and Socialists became more likely. Because of the Fourons issue, the Cabinet found hardly time to address their other issues, and many of the decisions it reached were never implemented because of the government crisis; e.g. the tax reform plan. The most important decision in the international field was the sending of minesweepers to the Gulf.

In 1987 the centre-right coalition was able to break through partially the triopoly of the three trade unions - the christian ACV, the socialist ABVV en the liberal ACLVB - by admitting to the four-yearly social elections separate lists of candidates for the members of the executive staffs. As a result of this, the position of the three unions weakened. The decline was most strongly felt by the ABVV; the socialist union lost 2.6 %. The minor loss of 0.7 % enabled the christian ACV to regain its position as the strongest Belgian union, a position which was taken for the first time in 1979 and was lost again in the elections of 1983. After the recent social elections, neither the unions (43.7 %), nor the « independent » National Confederation of the Executive Staff Members (34.1 %), nor the individual lists of the members of the executive staffs (222 %) can claim to be « the representator » of the members of the executive staffs. Through the analysis of the 1987 results, it is found once more that social elections are little affected by political events. The results of the social elections are in no way correlated to the results of the politicalelections.

At the provincial council elections of the 13th of december 1987 only one of the three traditional political families made a general progress, namely the socialists. Mainly in Wallonia the socialists improved their position seriously. In this part of the country they are the only and absolute winners of these provincial elections. The christian-democrats and the liberals were subject of a severe decline. Por the christian-democrats this decline was mainly situated in Flanders. The liberals had a serious decline in W allonia, that couldn't be counterbalanced by the small progress they made in Flanders. The ecologists made progress, mostly in the Flemish part of the country and in Brussels. By the federalist parties the Volksunie had a loss of three provincial council seats in Flanders, but the seperatistic and extreme right party Vlaams Blok won two seats. The communists disappeared totally from the provincial councils in Belgium. The results of the provincial council elections had a similar profile as these of the House of Representatives and the Senate which where held at the same day.

At the general elections in Belgium, the voter has the possibility to bring out a vote for a party or a vote for a candidate of the party (a preferential vote). At the general elections of December 13, 1987, for the House of Representatives, the voters have voted for 48 % by preference, whereas, for the Senate 38 % of them have done so. The evolution is still stagnating. The use of preferential votes is varying from one electoral district toanother: from 65 % in the district of Tongeren-Maaseik to 33 % in Mechelen. There is also a difference from one political party to another. The highest percentage is obtained by the Christian-democratic parties: 60 %; the lowest by the ecologists: 23 %. The preferential votes individual candidates obtain differ widely. This is not only as a result of their popularity, but also of their political position and rendering of services. Preferential voting is characteristic to politically conscious voters.