Excerpt from an open letter by Pierre Savarin to several influential NDP members several weeks before the NDP Convention
Monsieur de Graaf is, by any measure, an excellent leader, and would serve well if he was elected. I must, however, respond to how he characterized some of the differences in our policies.
I do not believe that an elected Senate would be catastrophic for the nation, but the fact of the matter is that a bicameral legislature is not as "necessary for democracy" as he claims. The existence of an upper house whose purpose is to block legislation in and of itself can restrict the democratic process more than would be ideal. I will not claim that an elected Senate would not be a massive improvement over our current system, but its abolition would be better yet. The closer the people are connected to their government, the better, and the Senate's very function is to distance them from it.
With regards to the Beauffortists, perhaps "prosecution" was too strong of a word, as it seems to imply witch trials and extra-judicial takings of vengeance. This is not what I inted at all. Be that as it may, how can it be that the right-hand man of Belgium's greatest traitor, and the general who helped him succeed, are respectively Prime Minister and Governor-General of Africa? I am not saying that we ought to run into the streets and break their windows, but it would be a great improvement to encourage such men via all available legal and democratic means to encourage such men to retire. I would at the very least discharge Van der Goltz from his position post-haste.
His stances on reform are valid ones, and I frankly agree with them. I do believe, however, that a twelve-hour work day is the most valid course to pursue in the long term after such reforms are accomplished.
I must, however, come to a more substantial point on which we disagree. He essentially claims that the Beninese are not ready for democracy, that they are yet still "uncivilized." I challenge this notion in the strongest of terms. Day by day, more and more Beninese learn French, Belgian history, and Belgian culture. Are they not just as Belgian as many of our nation's great immigrants? DeWitt, Diaz, De Zoet; all came from faraway lands and yet learned our culture and, within their lifetimes, became some of Belgium's greatest heroes. How are the Africans any different? There is not a people on this Earth that is not ready for democracy; it is the birthright of each and every man, and as civilized beings it is our greatest duty to grant them these inborn, inalienable rights with all possible speed. I truly believe that one day, from Belgium all the way to China, all the people on the earth will be able to exercise these rights that they deserve. The time to start this grand project is now, and I believe it can be done.
As vice-president of the Universal Suffrage Organization, I can claim that the single most important right of any human being is the right to vote and participate in democracy, and it does not matter if they are Walloons or Flemings, Germans or Africans, men or women. The NDP is the party that understands this and I am the candidate that shall fight for this. This is why I ask for your vote at the convention. We shall accomplish great things together. We shall make the economy free once again, we shall provide rights to all, and we shall make all of Belgium, from Bruxelles to Benin, open to free enterprise and freedom of action.
Thank you, gentlemen, and I hope you will consider my candidacy.
- Pierre Savarin
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