Oldal 1 [1]
BELGIUM BEFORE ITS MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS:
Every six years all of Belgium's municipal councils are
being re-elected, “his is going to happen again on Octobér 12th,
The electoral campaign, with its inescriptions, meetings, newspaper
articles has started already. The difference however with general
ebctions for Parliament is that the main emphasis are not the nation¬
wide political trends and programa, but the local issuesg that the
choice is not so much between Party lists, but between local camdidate
whom the voters know personally, Municipal elections therefore do
not shape or change the general political line of the country. They"
create however an atmosphere of local action and they start the rising
of certain personajities, which is not without important influence
on the next general elections, These are scheduled to be held in two
yearSe
ol n ede
Besides certain absolutely unimportant and purely local
groups, the major parties now engaged in the fight are the right¬
wing Catholics PSC (Partig’ Social Chretian), the liberals, the
socialists and the communists,
7 The psc (Parti Social Chretien) has been the great winner
in last general elections, At that moment, it was the party to rally
all Christian-thinking voters, Its firm stand in the royal question
in faver of the King made it popular. The P86 thus won a large
majority in ‘arliament and has since then carried governeettal
repponsibility,
The outstanding figure of the party is foreign Minister Paul
Van Zeeland, He is not only an expert in international and financial
questionsg he is also the personality who really leads his party and
has the greatest influence in shaping its pdlicies,
The present Prime-Minister, Van Houtte does not enjoy the reputation
of being the strong man that would be needediluch more discussed is
the position and influence of Mr.Pholien, Previously Prime Minister
then Minister of Justice, he was forced these days to give his resigna¬
tions He had issued two amnesty decrees, one for the "torturer of
ixamiux Breendonck"De Bodt, the other for an ex-colonel Van Coppenoble
who had been traitor to his country. Socialists and liberals graspdd
that opportunity to arouse public feelings - especially among War
veterans, resistants and families of executed hostages and of prisonnex
Minister Pholien replied that he had only applied the recent amnesty
law, the Law Lejeune, voted by Parliament itself7¥. His excuse was not
accepted and the "dictaterial attiéuded" of the PSC government denounce
for having handled these special cases by decree, instead of asking
previous Parliamentary discussion, The after-effects of this affair
and of Pholien's resignation are very differently estimated in the
country itself, People in the Flemish and more rural areas - who have
less feeling about the whole question of German occupation - feel that
the repercussions will not be grave ones. They estimate that even for
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