🏛️ Forest — Governance
👑 Bourgmestre
Charles Spapens PS
👑 Charles Spapens —
🤝 Coalition
PS-Vooruit + PTB-PVDA + Ecolo-Groen
🏛️ Collège / College
📋 Council Members
Full list of council members with party affiliations coming soon.
🔑 Who really controls Forest?
The governing coalition's party presidents — the people who set the political line.
| Party | President | Lives in | Region | Main electorate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PS | Paul Magnette | Charleroi | 🟡 Wallonia | Wallonia + Brussels |
| Vooruit | Conner Rousseau | Sint-Niklaas | 🔴 Flanders | Entirely Flanders |
| PTB | Raoul Hedebouw |
Liège area | 🟡 Wallonia | All regions (unitary party) |
| PVDA | Raoul Hedebouw |
Liège area | 🟡 Wallonia | All regions (unitary party, NL section) |
| Ecolo | Samuel Cogolati & Marie Lecocq |
Liège / Brussels area | 🔴 Wallonia / Brussels | Wallonia + Brussels |
| Groen | Nadia Naji & Jeremie Vaneeckhout (2022-2024) |
Brussels / Waregem | 🔴 Brussels / Flanders | Flanders + Brussels (NL group) |
🔍 Who really decides?
6 out of 6 governing party presidents (100%) don't live in Brussels.
Their main electorate is in Wallonia and Flanders and Wallonia / Brussels and Brussels / Flanders. Brussels policy is shaped by party discipline — and the party leaders call the shots from outside the region.
⚖️ Veto Power Analysis
In Belgium's particracy, a party president can:
- Pull the party out of the coalition → coalition collapses if majority is lost
- Impose voting discipline → all party members must follow the party line
- Veto nominations → party decides who gets appointed, not the elected officials