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An analysis by all (7) Flemish universities of the 2006 Belgium municipal council elections, using the Mediargus database containing articles from all Flemish newspapers (no journals included). Elections for which Belgium counties had unprecedented authority to organize their local government & local elections, & which were marked by arguments within local political parties, belated legislative changes & belated campaigning. Figures. Adapted from the source document.

Although the 2006 local elections can hardly be described as 'historical,' there is sufficient evidence to distinguish remarkable characteristics associated with this elections. For the first time in decades, turnout has been growing. This evolution can be explained by several factors. This article emphasizes besides the impact of changes in the electoral rules, transformations in demographic structure of the population & the stake of the elections the importance of the media campaign surrounding the elections. However, in spite of this (national) campaigns, there are more than enough indications that local politics keeps its local 'nature.' Secondly, the 2006 elections were the first ones organized after the transfer of the responsibility for municipality legislation from the federal state to the regions. This means that each region designed its own local government architecture & electoral rules. Yet, in practice, the consequences of this transformation seem to be very limited. Thirdly, & particular in the Flemish region, 'strong mayors' arose from the ballot stations (with the Antwerp mayor as the most spectacular case). The consequences of this trend will in the future be the issue of a new debate concerning the relations between council, board of alderman & mayor. Adapted from the source document.

This book studies political leadership at the local level, based on data from a survey of the mayors of cities of more than 10,000 inhabitants in 29 European countries carried out between 2014 and 2016. The book compares these results with those of a similar survey conducted ten years ago. From this comparative perspective, the book examines how to become a mayor in Europe today, the attitudes of these politicians towards administrative and territorial reforms, their notions of democracy, their political priorities, whether or not party politicization plays a role at the municipal level, and how mayors interact with other actors in the local political arena. This study addresses students, academics and practitioners concerned at different levels with the functioning and reforms of the municipal level of local government. Hubert Heinelt is Professor of Public Administration, Public Policy and Urban Research at the Institute for Political Science, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany. Annick Magnier is Professor of Urban Sociology and Jean Monnet Chair in 'The City in European Integration' at the Department of Political and Social Science, University of Florence, Italy. Marcello Cabria is a PhD candidate in a joint programme between the Department of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Florence, Italy, and the Department of Cultures, Politics and Society at the University of Turin, Italy. Herwig Reynaert is Professor at the Department of Political Sciences and the Dean of the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences at Ghent University, Belgium. .--

Intro -- Contents -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- Chapter 1: Introduction -- Aims of the Study and Origin of the Survey -- Characteristics of the International Research Network -- Organization of the Last Survey and Main Characteristics of the Collected Data -- Appendix 1: Countries Covered by and Partners Involved in the Survey -- Appendix 2: Seminars and Meetings of the Involved Partners -- References -- Chapter 2: Local Government Systems: Grasping the Institutional Environment of Mayors -- Introduction -- Existing Typologies and Indices-Their Strengths and Weaknesses -- Typologies of Local Government Systems -- Typologies of Vertical Power Relations -- Typologies of Horizontal Power Relations -- Typologies Based on the Combination of Vertical and Horizontal Power Relations -- Indices of Local Government Systems -- Indices of Vertical or Central-Local Power Relation -- Index of Horizontal Power Relation or Mayoral Strength -- Findings for the Horizontal Power Relations -- Towards an Index of Mayoral Strength -- The Mouritzen and Svara Typology -- Findings for the Vertical Power Relations -- Towards a New Typology of Vertical Power Relations/Central-Local Relations -- Perceptions of Mayors About the Influence of Upper Levels of Government Over Activities of Municipalities -- Local Administrative Systems: Taking Context into Account -- Towards a Typology of Local Administrative Systems -- Local Administrative Systems and Horizontal Power Relations -- Local Administrative Systems and Vertical Power Relations/Local Autonomy -- Conclusion -- Appendix -- References -- Chapter 3: From the Few Are Still Chosen the Few? Continuity and Change in the Social Background of European Mayors -- Introduction -- Reviewing the Social Base of Mayoral Recruitment -- Theoretical Foundations: Characteristics and Causes

This paper studies the role of partisanship in the road to the Belgian mayoralty. It confirms the expectation that most mayors have quite extensive party records prior to coming to office. Although different degrees of partisanship are thus relative, they tend to sort both internal and external effects. Mayors with a highly partisan background give a more active interpretation of their initial recruitment and get a head start in their political career. They also more frequently come from families that are deeply engaged in politics. In addition, they combine their own partisan experience with additional recruitment apprenticeships. Having
held a function in a party and having experienced extensive party support make mayoral orientations more partisan in terms of task importance and exchange of views with party leaders.

KEYWORDS: • local government • mayor • mayoral recruitment • local party system • Belgium

This paper studies the role of partisanship in the road to the Belgian mayoralty. It confirms the expectation that most mayors have quite extensive party records prior to coming to office. Although different degrees of partisanship are thus relative, they tend to sort both internal and external effects. Mayors with a highly partisan background give a more active interpretation of their initial recruitment and get a head start in their political career. They also more frequently come from families that are deeply engaged in politics. In addition, they combine their own partisan experience with additional recruitment apprenticeships. Having held a function in a party and having experienced extensive party support make mayoral orientations more partisan in terms of task importance and exchange of views with party leaders. Adapted from the source document.

The three main political parties which dominate British politics, at all levels, face a continuing challenge from smaller political parties and independent candidates. Such alternatives to the main three parties, however, have been a long-standing feature of the political landscape at both national and local levels. Yet, little is known of the way in which smaller parties and independent politicians contribute to politics and government and the impact they have on the functioning of democracy and institutions' governance. Moreover there is an absence of a conceptual framework within which to assess and understand the world of small party and independent politics. The article, based on research funded by the Leverhulme Trust (grant F/094/AP), sets out such a framework from within which small party and independent politics can be considered and understood. Adapted from the source document.

Recent evolutions in Western societies have sparked renewed debate on the state of political representation. This article contributes to the debate by applying a multifaceted typology developed by Andeweg and Thomassen (2005) to study political representation in Belgian local governance. The article empirically outlines the notions of 856 local councillors on political representation at the altitudinal and behavioural level. Furthermore, it searches to explain variation in the latter according to councillors' political and personal profile, their contact pattem, and the local government context. The article paints a balanced picture. The largest group of councillors prefer an all-round style, paying equal importance to authorization, accountability, delegation and responsiveness as basic styles or modes of political representation. Still we perceive a clear shift from councillors' attitudes, in which delegation takes the upper hand, to their acclaimed behaviour, which becomes more entrepreneurial as it is often hypothesized. Meanwhile, councillors' personal profile and contact pattern seem the most important determinants of political representation. Adapted from the source document.