Jubilation reigned in Government circles today over Premier Paul Van Zeeland’s crushing victory in yesterday’s by-election over Leon Degrelle, leader of the pro-Fascist Rexist party. The election resulted in a "confidence vote" for Van Zeeland, and a decline in Rexist strength which exceeded all expectation. A total of 275,840 votes — 75.89 per cent — were cast for Van Zeeland, as compared with only 69,242 votes — 19.05 per cent of the total — for his opponent. The result was attributed in large part to the influence of the Catholic church, in the person of Ernest Joseph Cardinal Van Roey, Primate of Belgium, who called upon the faithful to support Van Zeeland and attacked Rexism in a pre-election statement.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
