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Politics of Belgium takes place in a framework of a Federal Parliamentary Representative Democratic Monarchy , whereby the King of the Belgians is the Head of State and the Prime Minister Of Belgium is the Head Of Government in a pluriform multi-party system. Executive Power is exercised by the government. Federal Legislative Power is vested in both the Government and the two chambers of parliament, the Senate and the Chamber Of Representatives . The Federation is made up of (cultural/political) communities and (territorial) regions. Belgium's political institutions are complex; most political power is organised around the need to represent the main cultural (and political) communities. Since around 1970, the significant national Belgian Liberals , the Social Conservative Christian Democrats , and Socialists forming the Left-wing . Other important younger parties are the Green Parties and, nowadays mainly in Flanders, the Nationalist and Far-right parties. Politics is influenced by lobby groups, such as Trade Union s and Employers' Organization s such as the Federation Of Belgian Enterprises . Majority rule is often superseded by a de facto confederal decision making process where the minority (the French-speakers) enjoy important protections trought specialit majorities (2/3 overal and majority in each of the 2 main communities). POLITICAL BACKGROUND The current king, party Vlaams Blok , meanwhile superseded by Vlaams Belang amidst allegations of racism promoted by the party. Court rules Vlaams Blok is racist, BBC News, 9 November, 2004 A significant achievement of the two successive Verhofstadt governments has been the achievement of a balanced budget; Belgium is one of the few member-states of the EU to have done so (largely thanks to the consensus on this priority among the Flemish parties, the skills of the French-speaking liberal minister of finance, , and has passed legislation concerning War Crimes . Both of Verhofstadt's terms have been marked by disputes between the Belgian communities. The major points of contention are the overly complicated institutional arrangements, the lack of fiscal and financial autonomy for the regional and community governments, nocturnal air traffic routes at Brussels Airport , the status of the electoral district of Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde . CONSTITUTION ''Main article: Constitution Of Belgium .'' The Constitution of Belgium was established on February 7 1831 . Its first major revision was in 1970 when, in response to a growing civil conflict between the Dutch-speaking and French-speaking communities in Brussels, the Government declared that "the unitary state, its structure and functioning as laid down by law, had become obsolete". The new constitution recognised the existence of strong communautarian and regional differences within Belgium, but sought to reconcile these differences through a diffusion of power to the communities and the regions. It was last revised on July 14 1993 , when the parliament approved a constitutional package creating a federal state. The constitution is the primary source of law and the basis of the political system in Belgium. EXECUTIVE
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