TOWARDS A DIRECT ELECTION OF MAYORS IN BELGIUM: GIVING UP REPRESENTATION OR GIVING IN TO POLITICAL RENEWAL?

Abstract

Direct election of mayors is a popular issue in ‘political renewal’ in many European countries. The authors argue that the desire to implement this type of policy is usually inspired by a mix of motives: one motive is to establish strong and direct linkage, legitimacy and responsiveness between citizens and mayor while giving a face to fragmented policy processes. Another motive is to concentrate executive leadership in the hands of mayors to ensure that ‘new mayors’ function both as figureheads and focal points in local decision‐making. In their analysis of policy debates in Belgium in both the Flanders and the Walloon region, they show that these debates not only develop differently in different regions, they are only remotely connected to empirical findings as well. The selection of mayors in Belgium has over the years developed from an authoritarian into a democratic mode; the functional component has taken a similar course. The result is that mayors in Belgium are now in most cases ‘vote champions’ already, while their most important role is to be leaders in local politics. Policy debates do not only largely ignore these changes in the selection and in the mandates of mayors, they also ignore possible negative effects of direct elections on the chances of women and ethnic minorities in local politics.