Belgian parties are under unprecedented pressure ahead of the 2014 elections, with defeat meaning five years in opposition at all levels of government

On 25 May Belgium will hold simultaneous regional, federal and European elections. As Carl Devos writes, the decision to hold concurrent elections at all three levels was not simply a coincidence, but is instead a deliberate attempt to prevent short-term policies and the political instability that regularly accompanies elections in Belgium. However, the fact that defeated parties will face five years in opposition at all levels of government means they are facing an existential challenge, with unsuccessful party leaders and even individual parties unlikely to survive until the next elections in 2019.