Elections 2024: Ceci n’est pas un maire … mayor in name only

René Magritte famous painting ‘Ceci n’est pas une pipe’ points to the difference between a pipe and an image of a pipe. The Belgian painter is called the master of the absurd, and that same absurdism is reflected in the local elections. Several mayors that will be elected next Sunday, will not do the job and only keep the title.

Nearly all important politicians participate in the local elections. The first step towards political power is a strong local base. Those politicians, however, have ambitions higher than their local community. After the elections of 9 June, they have become ministers in a regional government or hope to become a minister in the federal government.

In Belgium, there are a bunch of rules about what political mandates can be combined and which cannot. Cumulating a job as a minister with a job as mayor is a no-go.

But there is a solution: you keep the title of mayor, but the work is done by a replacement, the ‘acting mayor’. The advantages are that you can keep the visibility as mayor, and if -for some reason- you lose your job as minister, you have an alternative ready.

In recent years, many ministers in Belgium were also mayor, and this will again be the case in the next term of office. For example, Flemish minister-president Matthias Diependaele (N-VA) is likely to become/stay mayor of the small town of Zottegem, Bart De Wever (N-VA) -who is destined to be the next prime minister- will highly likely become/stay mayor of Antwerp.

This system is in contrast with the new rules concerning the local elections in Flanders (local elections are organised by the regions in Belgium). The new rules wanted to strengthen democracy and wanted to give people a more direct say in who should be mayor. One of the rules states that the mayor is the person with the most votes from the majority party with the most votes.

National fame helps a politician to become just that, but also keeps that politician away from that job.

Local elections will take place at municipal and provincial levels in Belgium on Sunday 13 October. In the run-up to the vote, Belga English explores the main issues to watch out for and provides an overview of events.

_{#FlandersNewsService | Belgian Queen Mathilde in front of the famous painting of the Belgian master of the absurd. ​ © BELGA PHOTO BENOIT DOPPAGNE}