‘The Most Important or Utterly Unimportant?’ – The 1952 Presidential Election and the Status of the Presidency in the Early Days of the State

Abstract

The article analyzes the institution of the presidency in the early days of the state. Specifically, it examines the elections for president that took place on December 8, 1952 as a reflection of the vocal debate over the presidency’s symbolic function during that period. The article surveys the election, the main candidates, and the parties’ motives in choosing them, identifying three points of contention: whether the president should be a partisan or bipartisan position; whether the president should serve as a local figure or as a global figure that also encompasses Diaspora Jewry; and whether the president has the power to generate political-ideological momentum. The article proposes that the combination of the public perception of the presidency and the political culture in which he operates is the core of his symbolic power. This tool makes it possible to examine the changes in the president’s political power of time. By means of this methodological tool and by revealing the images of the presidency prevalent during that period and the perceptions of his status and role in society and politics, the article is able to show that during the early days of the state the president was viewed as a kind of modern monarch in republican clothing.