De Invloed van de Gemeenteraadsverkiezingen op de Nationale Politieke Machtskonstellatie
In: Res publica: politiek-wetenschappelijk tijdschrift van de Lage Landen ; driemaandelijks tijdschrift, Band 12, Heft 3, S. 457-475
ISSN: 0486-4700
Questions re whether politicians make deductions re the formal pol'al power constellation on the nat'l level from the approach or results of municipal elections are raised. Data from the elections in Belgium over the past 100 yrs are examined in this context. The elections of 1921, 1926, 1938, & 1958 had no influence on the nat'l power constellation. Since WWI not a single municipal election has led to changes within the nat'l gov. It is traditional in Belgian pol that the nat'l opposition, when the results of municipal elections are in its favor & prejudicial to the party in office (as in 1946, 1952, & 1964), tries to question the legitimacy of the gov by way of motions & appeals in parliament. Gov's have never given in to these attempts. The elections of 1857, 1884, & 1932 show an element of power in the dissolution of the then gov's. The gov'al crisis of 1884, however, can only be explained through the constitutional position of King Leopold II. The municipal elections of 1932 anticipated the legislative elections of that yr & served as an indicator of the electoral condition. But in view of the diff between nat'l & local positions, it was an unreliable indicator. Modified HA.