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Campaign propaganda (with other variables) provides a proper content to the elections. An analysis is made of its use at the General Elections of Mar 31, 1968. In 1967, Belgian PO was not focused on linguistic, cultural & nat'lity problems. However, at the General Elections of Mar 1968 3 out of the 5 main issues dealt with these problems. Besides the issue of federalization of the pol'al system, the linguistic & org'al issue of Brussels & the relocation of the French section of the Catholic U of Louvain, one finds only full employment & inflation as major issues in the campaign. This issue-debate does not put opposition & gov'al parties one against another, but places the 6 main parties in a complex cross-cutting & the electors in a strong cross-pressure field. This is still complicated by the increase of personal propaganda. AA.

Recent trends in election campaigns in Belgium & the Netherlands are compared from both political & historical perspective; it is stressed that primary reference is made to Flanders, & only occasionally to Wallonia, when the political landscape of Belgium is discussed. Developments since the 1960s in both countries are examined, identifying similarities & differences across the following areas: (1) the consociational democracy of Belgium & the Netherlands & its erosion with the formation of new political parties, growing polarization, & negative campaigning, (2) the election system & rules; the structure of parliamentary democracy in the two countries & its reflection in election campaigns; the voter's choices & influence on the composition of both houses of the parliament & the office of prime minister, (3) the content & form of election campaigns; campaign financing, presence in the traditional & new media; free TV time, (4) what is the campaign about & for whom is the vote cast? the principal role played by the party's first candidate on the list, (5) the election rules of the prime minister & new government formation; the role of party leadership. It is concluded that Belgium & the Netherlands still share some characteristics of consensus democracies, however, developments since the 1960s, in particular the growing division between the Flemish & French-speaking regions of Belgium, led to significant institutional changes in the latter country's election campaigns & its citizen's declining interest in this political process on both federal & regional levels. Election campaigns in the Netherlands seem to be more concrete & relevant to the voter. However, both countries suffer from voters' losing direct control over who is elected & over the composition of their future government. Z. Dubiel

An introduction that sketches a background for the essays included in the thematic section of the journal & notes the sudden rise of interest in studies devoted to electoral campaigns in Belgium & the Netherlands; an attempt is made to explain the rationale for this trend. Major publications in this field are mentioned, & three particular topics that are of special interest to scholars in political science & political communication are identified: (1) the campaigning activities & strategies of political parties & candidates, (2) the content of campaign news & debates in the media, & (3) the effects of (1) & (2) on voter's behavior & choices. The differences in the evolution of studies of election campaigns between in Belgium and the Netherlands are pointed out. Z. Dubiel

Deliberative democrats claim that political deliberation among citizens increases the legitimacy of and support for democratic decision-making. The question is, however, whether deliberative democracy can realize its added value in the real world of politics where political discussion is characterized by persisting inequalities. This paper tries to contextualize the gender gap in political talk by taking into account the social (i.e., discussion networks) and political context (i.e., campaign effects) in which political debate takes place. Based on previous research we argue that women prefer to discuss politics in relatively like-minded, cohesive networks, while men prefer more confrontational networks. Moreover, we expect the gender gap to depend on the electoral context, in that the gender gap disappears in later campaign phases. These two arguments were tested and confirmed using data gathered in the Partirep Regional Election Survey in 2009. Adapted from the source document.

The number of preference votes for the candidates running in the October 2006 local elections in the thirteen main cities of Flanders is largely determined by the position on the list & the previous political mandate. A multivariate analysis shows that an executive function on the local level yields a comparable electoral bonus as a national mandate. The campaign expenditures also have a significant effect. There is a spending limit, but the candidates on average spend only 22% of what they are allowed to. Christian-democratic candidates generally spend the most, with the liberals ranked second. The gender, age & professional status of the candidates have at most a very marginal effect on their electoral score, controlling for the other relevant variables. Candidates with a foreign name obtain a somewhat better result on average, but this is particularly the case with candidates running for the socialist party. Tables, Graphs. Adapted from the source document.