Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0034/00345.txt

Text File | 1991-06-24 | 29KB | 470 lines

$Unique_ID{COW00345}
$Pretitle{370}
$Title{Belgium
Chapter 1D.   The Interwar Period}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Rita Moore-Robinson}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{belgium
belgian
congo
political
war
economic
flemish
leopold
party
period}
$Date{1984}
$Log{}
Country:     Belgium
Book:        Belgium, A Country Study
Author:      Rita Moore-Robinson
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1984

Chapter 1D.   The Interwar Period

     For the next 20 years Belgium entered into a number of pacts designed to
strengthen its political and economic security. It entered the French alliance
system under a Franco-Belgian military agreement in 1920, was one of the first
signatories to the League of Nations, and in 1925 joined the Locarno Treaties
with France and Germany, which guaranteed their borders. In 1930 the Treaty
of Oslo established preferential customs arrangements among the Scandinavian
nations, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Belgium and Luxembourg
themselves established the Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union in 1922.

     Reconstruction of the economy was of necessity a high priority and
prompted immediate action to avoid inflation and repair the economic
infrastructure. The goal was to restore the economy to its prewar level, not
to reform it, although some amelioration of the condition of workers was
considered inevitable. The political power of bankers and industrial leaders
was enhanced both because of their humanitarian efforts during the war and
because their technical expertise was invaluable in dealing with the complex
situation. In 1924 price levels were five times what they had been in 1914
(relatively mild inflation in comparison with the rest of Europe), the
national debt had more than doubled to BF54 billion, and the currency had
depreciated precipitously. The economy as a whole achieved its prewar level by
1925, but the condition of the working class, though marginally improved, was
still far from satisfactory. By 1928, the end of the reconstruction period,
per capita income had decreased by 9 percent, and the tax burden had risen
by 70 percent compared with the 1913 level.

     The situation appeared to many to be extremely volatile. It was decided
that a government of national solidarity, pledged to social reform, was the
only viable option. Albert convened a meeting of the leaders of the major
parties at Lophem Castle, and on November 21, 1918, a new coalition of
Catholics, Liberals, and Socialists was formed. The next day the king
announced future radical reforms: the end of the plural vote and the
establishment of universal male suffrage, equal rights for all national
languages, the foundation of a Flemish university at Ghent, and the repeal of
Belgium's obligatory neutrality.

     Universal male suffrage was established in 1919, and elections for
parliament were held in November. The results reinforced the societal division
among the parties. The Catholics, strongest in Flanders, and the Socialists,
dominant in Wallonia, each received a little over one-third of the total; the
Liberals and splinter groups shared the remainder. Thus the pattern that was
to dominate Belgian politics for the next 20 years was set. Because no
party could effectively rule alone, coalition government was inevitable, and
the Liberals, though the weakest of the three major groups, controlled the
crucial swing vote.

     The homogeneous nature of the parties became more pronounced. Voters
rarely switched their support, and party affiliation took the character of a
family legacy handed down from generation to generation. The system of
associated agencies (mutual aid societies, unions, social groups, etc.) also
solidified, and the "worlds," or "pillars," as they were increasingly called,
became more distinct and universal, within a decade becoming the most
important factors in the life of the average Belgian. As an eminent historian
of the period noted:

     There is extraordinarily little social intercourse between Catholics
and Liberals, and practically none between Catholics and Socialists. Politics
enters into almost every phase of social activity and philanthropic effort
and it is the exception rather than the rule for persons holding different
opinions to co-operate in any other matter. Thus, in one town there will be
a Catholic, a Liberal, and a Socialist trade union, a Catholic, a Liberal
and a Socialist co-operative bakery, a Catholic, a Liberal and a Socialist
thrift society, each catering for similar people, but each confining its
attentions to members of its own political party. The separation extends to
cafes, to gymnasia, choral, and temperance, and literary societies; indeed, it
cuts right through life.

     Despite the centrality of politics, the system in fact contributed to
a remarkable passivity of the electorate and the overwhelming power of its
leaders. While workers across Europe organized and rioted, the working class
in Belgium remained calm. Significant social reforms were enacted between
1919 and 1924, including a progressive income tax designed to provide state
funds for social programs, such as subsidized housing construction, limited
voluntary insurance for unemployment and sickness, old-age pensions, and
limited voting rights for women. Following the prewar practice of liberte
subsidiee, these programs were funneled through the pillars. The eight-hour
work day and 48-hour workweek were established in 1921, as well as the
right of "full and free association" of workers, making unions at last legal.
The social legislation blunted the attraction of radical movements, including
the Belgian Communist Party, which was founded in 1921 with about 1,000
members but which had increased to only 9,000 by 1939.

     The position of the monarchy was greatly enhanced by Albert's wide
popularity. The previous monarchs had experienced often caustic relations with
the political parties because of their activism, and their personalities did
not endear them greatly to the populace. Albert, on the other hand, had won
enormous public and elite approval for his leadership during the war. The
value of the monarchy, previously questioned, especially by the Socialists,
ceased to be a political issue. When Leopold III succeeded to the throne in
1934, the institution was secure.

     The Great Depression hit Belgium very hard. With an economy heavily
weighted toward exports, the collapse of the international economy had
immediate effects; unemployment grew from 76,000 at the end of 1930 to 200,000
in 1931, to 340,000 in 1932, and to 350,000 in 1934, the worst year, when
more than one-third of workers having unemployment insurance were totally
or partly unemployed. The actual numbers of unemployed were probably much
higher.

     Parliament, unable to cope with the complexity and desperation of the
situation, abandoned most of its powers, giving special authority to the
government. Because the stakes were so high and the governments were no
longer determined by parliamentary strength but by formal agreements among
party leaders on specific issues, cabinets became particularly fragile.
During the 1919-40 period 17 governments were formed, but during the
1936-40 period alone there were six, none of which survived longer than
nine months. Throughout the 1930s doubts about the viability of parliamentary
democracy dominated political commentary, and many politicians were attracted
to authoritarianism and the idea of a stronger state. Proposals for state
control over the economy, especially Hendrik de Man's Plan du Travail of
1933, enjoyed some popularity, especially among Socialists.

     Discontent about the political system was particularly acute in the
lower middle class. The economy in Belgium, as in the rest of Europe, was
being transformed into a modern economy of highly concentrated, efficient,
and large industrial and commercial enterprises having an ever increasing
competitive advantage and formidable resources, both economic and political.
At the same time