Political Testament: Part IV

In the third section of his recommendations for the post-war reconstruction of Belgium, entitled La réforme politique, Leopold III addressed the country's need for a reform of its political structure. The 1930's had been characterized by an inordinate degree of political fragmentation, party strife and resulting national weakness, culminating in 1940, when many Belgians, following the Nazi conquest of the country, temporarily lost faith in Belgium's future. 

The King laid down the following guidelines for improvement. He emphasized the need for a devotion to the common good rising above individual and party interests; political structures must be moulded to foster and favor such devotion. 

...Les défauts de l'ancien mécanisme gouvernemental et les incidents inouïs qui en ont été l'aboutissement en 1940 ont ouvert les yeux dans les milieux les plus conservateurs. La Nation n'admettra pas un retour pur et simple aux errements d'avant la guerre. Elle désire que le Pouvoir soit exercé par des hommes intègres et compétents, qui cessent d'estimer le bien général à la mesure des intérêts des partis; elle desire que ces hommes soient nantis des mandats nécessaires pour résoudre avec autorité et continuité les problèmes essentiels et urgents.

...Le Pays a besoin des lois et de règlements bien faits: les citoyens ont le droit d'être protégés contre l'arbitraire possible d'un gouvernement dont les pouvoirs seront plus étendus. 

La responsabilité ministerielle doit cesser d'être un principe abstrait épinglé dans un code; il faut qu'elle devienne une réalité juridique permettant d'atteindre les ministers dont les fautes graves auraient compromis les intérêts de l'État. 

Ceci posé, dans quelle mesure et sous quelle forme y a-t-il lieu de rebâtir le statut politique du Royaume?

Il appartiendra au peuple belge librement consulté d'en décider, sitôt que les circonstances le permettront. 

...The defects of our previous governmental structures and the unheard-of incidents, whose result appeared in 1940 have opened the eyes of even the most conservative circles. The Nation will not accept a simple return to our pre-war wanderings. It desires that power be exercised by men who are upright and capable, and who cease to measure the general good by party interest; it desires that these men be granted the mandates necessary to resolve, with authority and continuity, essential and urgent problems.

...The country needs good laws and regulations; the citizens have the right to be protected against the possibly arbitrary rule of a government with more extensive powers. 

Ministerial responsibility must cease to be an abstract principle in a code of law; it must become a juridical reality, so that ministers whose serious faults have compromised the interests of the State may be charged.

In view of this, to what extent and in what manner will it be necessary to rebuild the Kingdom's political structure? 

It will be for the Belgian people, freely consulted, to decide these issues, as soon as circumstances permit it.

In view of the fact that Leopold was repeatedly accused of "fascist sympathies" by his political enemies, I find this phrase especially interesting: "The citizens have the right to be protected against the possibly arbitrary rule of a government with more extensive powers." These are hardly the stipulations of a fascist!