April 4.
Though Havas gives what it calls the provisional results of the Belgian general Election for the House of Representatives, it is clear that, as the report covers 201 of the 202 seats in the House, no particular change can be effected in the general situa~ tion by the outstanding result. Nor has there been brought about any substantial alteration in the voting strengths of the parties, when. considered as coalitions similar to that over which M. Henri Spaak, presided when the issue over the appointment of Dr, Albert Maartens to the Flemish National Academy of Medicine, forced his resignation, Belgium has been long sharply divided on the age-old rivalry between the Flemings and the Walloons. Dr. Maartens is Flemish, It is alleged against him that during the War he was hand in glove with Germany, as were many other extreme Flemings, who wanted, and still want some sort"of autonomy. As an Activist he was tried in absentia for treason in 1920, sentenced to death, but eventually pardoned under the amnesty of 1927, By a very narrow majority the House of Representatives ap~ proved of the appointment, but not so the Belgian ex-service men, who, both Fleming and Walloon, marched on the Chamber and assaulted M. Spaak. The attitude of the ex-service men seems to have been that it was all very well to pardon a man convicted of treason, but that it was going a little too far when the State raised such a man to a position of high honour.
It is unnecessary democracies, They have for all too long to follow in detail the various attempts to form a government after M, Spaak resigned, Legislature and the ordering of a general election. That election has been fought out bitterly between the various parties and while no very important change has taken place in the constitution of the new Chamber, there are significant alterations in the standing of the various parties, The most interesting feature of the results 4s the very severe revers which the Fascist Rexists, under the leadership of the young M. Leon Degrelle, have sustained. At the last election no fewer than 21 Rexists succeeded in obtaining seats, Their number has now been reduced to six, and if the missing result happens to be in their favour they will still have lost two-thirds of the representa tion they had in the former parliament, From. the figures it would seem that most of those seats must have gone to the Catholics, who now have the honour of being the strongest party in the Chamber, numerically, control~ ling 74 votes as compared with the former strength of the Socialists of 70, 'The latter who now have 68 voles are' the second strongest party in the Chamber, and it they succeed in maintaining the same combination of parties as before, namely. Socialists, Liberals and Flemish Nationalists, would control 111 of the seats, of the Chamber, and at the same time gain access to power. "The change in this coalition as a result of the election is of interest, for it is apparent that [though the Socialists lost two seats, being reduced from 10 to 68, the Liberals' gained five, rising from 23 to 28, while the Flemish Nationalists at 16 lost a seat they had previously held. 'The general result of the re~ shuffle is that the coalition, if it continues to exist will actually be stronger by two votes than before, the total being 111 as against the former' 109, Much, of course depends upon the attitude which the strengthened Liberals will adopt, "When they realized that the ex-service men were opposed to the appointment of Dr. Maartens, they decided they would not have him either, though their previous vote had undoubtedly helped him to the position, and the withdrawal of their support from M, Spaak brought about the collapse of his government, Small though their numbers may be compared with the total votes in the Chamber, they appear to be in a position of strength somewhat similar to that at times occupied the House of Commons by the Irish party prior to the secession, Without them the Socialists cannot carry on. Should they decide to throw in their lot with the Catholics that combination would only command 102 votes giving It a majority of one, certainly insufficient to ensure anything in the nature of a long life for it, The position may be briefly summed up as a stalemate, though the nation appears to have rendered a verdict, against the appointment of Dr. Muartens, the cause of the whole trouble. The crisis 15, therefore, expected in some quarters to continue indefinitely unless King Leopold decides to intervene in some manner. There are those who see in recent events the development of that monarch into a ruler of considerable strength, even likening him to King Carol, which may not, however, be entirely justified! That view, it is claimed, is justified by his actions arising out of the Manrtens incident, Because he had signed the decree of appointment, of course on the advise of his ministers who are naturally expected to check the suitability of candidates submitted for his formal approval, King Leopold was subjected to some criticism, On February 2 he summoned them to the palace, and there in the Hall of Thinkers, so named after Rodin's statue which is there, kept. the Cabinet standing while he addressed them strongly on the needs and the omissions of the government. Will he be able to break this stalemate by some determined action of his own? The Constitution of the country does not suggest that this is Ukely, and yet some solution of the present impasse, 1s necessary if the business of government to be efficiently carried on. He is likely to be opposed by very determined men, such as M, Spaak, and M, Hubert Pierlot, leader of the Catholics though probably not by M. Leon Degrelle whose influence however, has sadly diminished, not only by the failure of his party in the election, but because of the defection some time ago of supporters who exercised a very considerable influence.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.