The Tsunami in South East Asia (Reactions of the Swedish Royals): December 26, 2004


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Victoria is always an angel to me regardless of what happened. But really, I doubt she will ever get anywhere near Prince Harry, she is much more mature than him. Maybe Victora did act inappropriately but as Australian said, this is probably one of the first times she's blown it. I reckon she will be a really great queen :)
 
Pictures of Victoria´s visit to a SVT-studio (this was an update-show, which should tell the swedish ppl, what they will do with the donated money...of course ppl could go on with donating in the show too)
 

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"Desperate Government attacks King"


The Local


The secretary of Sweden’s ruling Social Democrats has attacked King Carl XVI Gustaf for his comments on Sweden’s slow reaction to the Asian tsunami. Yet if Marita Ulvskog hoped that her comments would deflect criticism of the government, these hopes were quickly dashed. Opposition parties and the media condemned the attempt to shift the focus from the government’s actions, with one paper describing the Social Democrats as ‘desperate’. And for Ulvskog the damage was compounded when Göran Persson seemed to distance himself from her comments

Ulvskog was commenting on an interview that Carl Gustaf gave to Dagens Nyheter, where he said that in Sweden, “people often refuse to take responsibility. They are afraid of taking action, as it can mean costs and that you can be held to account later.” This was widely interpreted as an attack on the government, despite the royal press office’s insistence that the king was referring to Sweden in general, and not the government in particular.

Now, with Göran Persson facing heavy criticism, Marita Ulvskog has gone on the offensive. In an interview on Swedish radio, she said that the king had “crossed a line”, and broken the constitutional rule that the monarch shall not get involved in politics. And in a barely veiled threat to the king, she implied that the so-called ‘Torvekov Compromise’ constitutional settlement could be reviewed. Under the compromise, agreed in 1971, the royal family agreed to limit its role to official entertaining, and not to get involved in politics.

By attacking the king at a time when he is more popular than ever, Ulvskog was taking a big risk. Signs that the risk was not paying off came when Göran Persson, asked about Ulvskog’s comments, told reporters that there was no reason to criticize the king, and that he had acted within his rights.

Ulvskog’s outburst seemed to have made a bad situation for the Social Democrats even worse, and Persson’s attempts to soften the blow to the government appeared likely to have a limited effect, with both the opposition and the media on the offensive.

Dagens Nyheter’s Henrik Brors has written a number of comment pieces criticizing the government’s handling of the crisis. Today he wrote that blaming the king was a sign of desperation.

The centre-right opposition parties were scathing of the government’s handling of the affair. Moderate Party leader Fredrik Reinfeldt said that Social Democrats wanted a “silent democracy”, where nobody could speak out against the government:

“Everyone is supposed to be silent: the royal house, staff at the foreign office, and the opposition,” he said. Jöran Hägglund, secretary of the Centre Party, said “it would have been better and more logical for Marita Ulvskog to have announced that the Social Democrats were going to analyze their own actions during this crisis."

Even the Social Democrats’ coalition partners have criticized Persson’s attempt to blame civil servants for the government’s tardy response to the catastrophe. Left Party leader Lars Ohly said it was “completely inappropriate” for Persson "to establish a commission [to investigate its handling of the disaster], and then say that he already has the answers.”



Sources: Dagens Nyheter, Svenska Dagbladet, Aftonbladet, Sveriges Radio



 
aren't there elections in the not to soon future in Sweden? Maybe the socialists are just afraid of getting the bill for their behaviour and getting replaced by another government.
 
Parliamentary and local administration elections are not until September 2006.
 
GrandDuchess said:

[I]Princess Birgitta to the left, the King and his father to the right (picture from a small article about the film for the Swedish Save the Children that the King will participate in, mentioned in a previous post by me[/I]

[SIZE=4][B]Princess Birgitta: I am moved to tears[/B][/SIZE]





This is my very first post on this particular thread because I haven't been able to wrap my mind around the fact that so many people lost their lives in the matter of seconds. I am happy that the world was able to unite to make sure all of those who have suffered so deeply from this tragedy are able to receive the help and support needed, though it's going to take time for the healing of the minds and hearts of the people involved. I remember Dennism showing me the speech that CG wrote, and I was floored..deeply touched by it. Minutes after reading it, I still couldn't get the speech out of my mind. It must have taken a great deal of courage to speak on something that still rubs you raw 58 years later, not saying it shouldn't but still. I like to say that my prayers are with all of the people who were involved in this tragic event, their friends and families, and also to those who are helping to clean up and bury the dead. This can't be an easy job for anyone involved. Also, I would like to give my condolences for those who lost their lives. God bless them all.
 
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Crown Princess Victoria was tonight a guest at TV4's programme that ended the two week long fundraising for the catastrophe. The fundraising was a cooperation between TV4, the Swedish Red Cross and Telia.

The Crown Princess said that she has since a long time planned a trip to Asia to visit different aid projects - and now she hopes that they can connect that trip with perhaps a visit to Thailand or some other country struck by the tsunami.

Let's hope for a few pics and perhaps a film clip from this appearance later.
 
That is good. Brava to her. Let´s hope there indeed will be photos and a film clip.
 
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