Political parties in Flanders a majority. Therefore, parties must work with each other to form coalition governments. Most current Flemish parties grew from the main political parties that for long dominated Belgian politics: the Catholic Party (Church-oriented and conservative), the Liberal Party (anti-clerical and progressive) and the Socialist Party. These three groups still dominate Flemish politics, but they have evolved substantially in character. In the 21st century however, conservative nationalist parties such as Vlaams Blok/Belang and especially the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) which became the largest party in 2010, were successful and broke the domination of the traditional catholic, liberal and socialist parties. The
Coalition government ruling coalition. A grand coalition government was subsequently forged between the CDU/CSU and the SPD. Partnerships like these typically involve carefully structured cabinets. The CDU/CSU ended up holding the Chancellory while the SPD took the majority of cabinet posts. Parties frequently make statements ahead of elections which coalitions they categorically reject, similar to election promises or shadow cabinets in other countries. In Germany, coalitions rarely consist of more than two parties (CDU and CSU, two allies which always form a single caucus, are in this regard considered a single party). However, in the 2010s coalitions on the state level increasingly