Roey v. Rex

Events in Brussels last week fateful to the future of European Democracy could handily be visualized in London terms. It was just as if No. 1 British Fascist Sir Oswald Mosley should put himself up as a candidate at a by-election and be taken so seriously that Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin should step down to fight him man to man as the opposing candidate. Further, it was as if King George VI should spunkily issue denials of rumors that he was pro-Fascist; and as if the Archbishop of Canterbury should come crashing through at the last moment with an appeal plunging the Church into politics.

In Belgium the No. 1 Fascist is personable, passionate young Leon Degrelle, a dynamic demagog with a confident way of dashing about in high-powered cars, bounding up on platforms and generally acting and talking as if Belgium were a ripe plum just about to plump itself by an avalanche of votes into his lap--as Germany plumped into Hitler's. In his campaign speeches last week Orator Degrelle roared that his academic, scholarly opponent Premier Dr. Paul van Zeeland is "tainted with Americanisms," referred to Economist van Zeeland's professorial work at Princeton in scathing terms, accused him of "copying his economic policies off the blackboards of the Roosevelt Brain Trust!"

The Cabinet of Professor van Zeeland is supported by a necessarily loose coalition of Catholics, Liberals, Socialists and Communists. It is typical of the setup of Democracy against which dictators rail, scoffing that efficiency is impossible if the head of the state has to spend most of his time conciliating the views of supporters so diverse. Challenged by Degrelle and his Rexist Party, however, the Cabinet parties pulled themselves together, urged Professor van Zeeland, who had never run for an elective office, to do so as a personal challenge to Demagog Degrelle. They assured the Premier he would be elected by pledging him their unanimous support, he to run as a "National Democrat."

Thus the short-term, immediate result of last week's polling was never in doubt but the Belgians, essentially a long-term folk, palpitated with eagerness to see if Rexism could win enough votes to make it a coming party. At the election of last May the Rexists, offering candidates for the first time, won 11.4% of the popular vote and 21 of the 202 seats in the Belgian Chamber. In Brussels, the district contested last week, they won last May 55,500 ballots out of a total of 340,000. This spring it has been Degrelle's boast that he would win 100,000 and it was agreed last week that that would mean a "decisive Rexist victory"--even though the rest of the votes would surely elect Professor van Zeeland.

Taking a chance that the Catholic Church would suffer in silence Rexist claims that it was not against Rexism, Orator Degrelle indulged in an orgy of this double negative, then took one chance too many by referring to "the silence of Malines." This brought His Eminence Joseph Ernest Cardinal van Roey, Primate of Belgium and successor to the War's famed Cardinal Mercier, wrathfully out of his Archbishop's Palace at Malines. He not only told the Catholic voters of Belgium in a formal statement that Rexism is "a danger to the country and the Church" but he issued an advance "rebuke" to anyone who cast a blank ballot. Under Belgian law every enfranchised male must vote. Many blank ballots were expected to be cast by such Catholics as consider the Premier too innovating a New Dealer. After the Primate had spoken everyone agreed, "Degrelle hasn't a chance."

Amid a drizzling rain 275,840 Brussels ballots went to van Zeeland, 69,242 to Degrelle and 18% were blank. This was "Victory for Democracy." It made Adolf Hitler so angry that his personal Berlin newsorgan Volkischer Beobachter told Germans: "The election result was falsified in advance by the statement from the Archbishop of Malines."

Although reporters found Rexist Degrelle looking utterly sunk and blaming his defeat on the lack of silence from Malines, his Fascist dander was soon up again, and Berlin was expected to pour heavy contributions into fresh efforts to turn Belgium Rexist. Exulted Victor van Zeeland: "The result has exceeded my wildest hopes! And now to work--all together, for King, Law and Liberty!"

First business at hand for Premier van Zeeland this week was International. Representatives of the "Oslo Group" arrived for four days of conference and Reich Economic Minister Hjalmar Schacht was due from a "World Bank" meeting at Basle to urge more traffic in raw materials between Belgium and Germany.

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