Abstract

The party executive is the most important organ within a political party especially in Belgium which is charaterised as one of the strongest particracies in Western Europe. Focusing on the functioning of the party executive within the CVP and the BSP at a moment both parties govern with the Liberal Party as coalition partner, the attendances and interventions within the party executive show a group of approximately fives persons playing a predominant role in the decision making process. In both cases the party president is the most important and powerful person. The almost complete absence of government membres within the party executive of the CVP forms a remarkabledifference to the BSP. The relationship between party and government is quite different in both parties. In the BSP the cooperation and support between party and government is much better than within the CVP.