ROSSEM

ROSSEM or Radicale Omvormers en Sociale Strijders voor een Eerlijker Maatschappij is a Belgian libertarian political party founded in 1991 by the Flemish businessman and writer Jean-Pierre Van Rossem. 'Radicale Omvormers en Sociale Strijders voor een Eerlijker Maatschappij" can loosely be translated as "radical reformists and social fighters for a fairer society". There was an active French-speaking section in the Arrondissement of Nivelles (Walloon Brabant) with the acronym ROSSUM (Rassemblement omniprésent social et solidaire pour l'ubiquité des masses).[1]

ROSSEM
President
Founded1991 / 2009
Dissolved1994 / 2014
Succeeded by
  • BANAAN
  • HOERA
  • WOW
IdeologyCivil libertarianism
Animal welfare
Populism
Labor unionism
Secularism
Factions:
Republicanism
Monarchism
Political positionBig tent
Colors  Purple
Website
https://partijrossem.be/

The party participated in the 24 November 1991 elections for the Belgian national parliament. It scored surprisingly well for a non-mainstream party, achieving 3.2% of the vote which entitled it to three seats in the lower house and one in the senate.

Initially, Van Rossem could not take up his seat as he was arrested a few days before the elections following allegations of financial fraud. He was eventually sworn in on 7 January 1992. Another parliamentarian for ROSSEM was Jan Decorte, a Flemish stage actor and director, who broke with Van Rossem following the 1993 incident and continued as an independent.

In 1993 Van Rossem again courted controversy by shouting “Vive la république d'Europe, vive Julien Lahaut!” during King Albert II's oath ceremony following his succession to the throne. Later that year, the party collapsed due to infighting amongst its members, and did not contest the next election. There were three dissidences. The first was Waardig Ouder Worden in 1993, which joined the Vlaams Blok in 1999, it was led by Hendrik Boonen and Paul Verledens. The second was HOERA in 1993 by Jan Decorte in relation to the internal division between republican and monarchist. The third was Beter Alternatieven Nastreven Als Apathisch Nietsdoen in 1995 and was active until 1997 before joining Vivant.

In 2009, Jean-Pierre Van Rossem wanted to re-found his party under the name Partij van de Toekomst but the name ROSSEM remained because it was much more familiar. In 2012 ROSSEM announced his intention to take part in the Antwerp municipal elections.[2] Van Rossem dropped this plan, however, because his party was not sufficiently prepared.[3] In 2013, Nora Azdad was elected President of ROSSEM.[4] In 2014, it suffered a heavy defeat in the federal (0.3%) and Flemish regional (0.2%) elections.[5]

References
  1. "Faites vos jeux, rien ne va plus. Ce n'est pas parce qu'on est petit qu'on a rien à dire". lesoir.be.
  2. "Jean-Pierre Van Rossem stelt nieuwe partij voor". knack.be.
  3. Eric Belsack. "Jean-Pierre Van Rossem haakt af voor Antwerpse gemeenteraadsverkiezingen". HLN.
  4. "Officieel: Van Rossem niet langer voorzitter ROSSEM". hln.be.
  5. "Jean-Pierre Van Rossem ontbindt partij: 'Beschamend resultaat'". standaard.be.
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