Renardism () refers to a political ideology in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

based on the thinking of the

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

leader André Renard (1911–62) which is generally considered to have emerged as a concept only in the years after his death. Although its exact nature has been much discussed, Renardism combined elements of

syndicalism Syndicalism is a labour movement within society that, through industrial unionism, seeks to unionize workers according to industry and advance their demands through Strike action, strikes and other forms of direct action, with the eventual goa ...

and regionalist politics which ultimately sought the transformation of the country into a federal state.

André Renard and Renardism

Renard had been an active trades unionist before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After 1945, he became involved with the Belgian socialist trades union, the General Federation of Belgian Labour (FGTB) but refused to adapt his populist rhetoric to fit within the mainstream Belgian Socialist Party (PSB). He strongly opposed the return of Leopold III during the Royal Question (1950) and supported the Belgian general strike of 1960–61. When the strike collapsed, he participated in the formation of the (MPW) party. He died in 1962. Many of the positions of the MPW were adopted by the PSB at the Verviers Congress in 1967. Renard's political ideas attracted a following within the FGTB and the Walloon Movement and outlived his own death. A staunch populist, inspired by

Trotskyism Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...

and

anarcho-syndicalism Anarcho-syndicalism is an anarchism, anarchist organisational model that centres trade unions as a vehicle for class conflict. Drawing from the theory of libertarian socialism and the practice of syndicalism, anarcho-syndicalism sees trade uni ...

, Renard aimed to use industrial action to achieve structural reform which would provide greater autonomy to

Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...

and improve the situation of the working class. He strongly advocated

federalism Federalism is a mode of government that combines a general level of government (a central or federal government) with a regional level of sub-unit governments (e.g., provinces, State (sub-national), states, Canton (administrative division), ca ...

References

Bibliography

* *{{cite book, last1=Witte, first1=Els, last2=Craeybeckx, first2=Jan, last3=Meynen, first3=Alain, title=Political History of Belgium from 1830 Onwards, date=2009, publisher=ASP, location=Brussels, isbn=978-90-5487-517-8, edition=New Walloon movement Socialism in Belgium Regionalism (politics) Politics of Wallonia History of Wallonia Syndicalism Political history of Belgium Eponymous political ideologies

André Renard and Renardism

See also

References

Bibliography