Liberal Circle

The Liberal circle also included the former mayor of Gentbrugge, Robert Rinskopf. He was born in 1884 into a family of Jewish industrialists. Grandfather Napoleon had a large factory in Gentbrugge near the current Arbedpark and produced shoe polish. Grandson Robert entered politics, joined the Liberal Association and founded a local branch of La Libre Examen. He became mayor of Gentbrugge in 1926 and became the head of an anti-clerical coalition of liberals (two seats) and socialists (five seats) against six Catholics, a very narrow majority. His progressive and strongly social vision soon came into conflict with that of the rather conservative Liberal Association of Gentbrugge. Together with the liberal alderman Henri D'haese, the architect of the official education in Gentbrugge, he left the Association and founded the Liberal Progressive Circle of Gentbrugge. D'Haese became chairman and Rinskopf honorary chairman. Together they tried to build a bridge between the ideas of the liberals and those of the socialists. They started in the working-class neighborhood around the Arsenal and planned the creation of progressive-liberal neighborhood clubs. In the municipal elections of 1932, the Liberal Progressive Circle came up with its own list.

Dromos