Oldal 1 [1]
OCR
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 nationwide 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 rightwing 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 resignations 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 : % | 3 ú
