Dotations of Members of the Belgian Royal Family under Discussion

[MAfan]

I agree with publish the expenses, it's right if they're paid with taxes; but I don't agree with reducing the number of Princes to whom give the dotation.

[Al_bina]

It is rather unfortunate that the Belgian government creates an ambiguous situation regarding dotations.

[LadyLeana]

Apparently, according to a research, 1 out of 3 Belgians thinks all funding of the Royal family must be abolished. For them, the new rules are not strict enough. They wouldn't mind to see the Royal family to be stripped of all their dotations, even the King and Queen.

Reason for this, according to the research, is that more and more Flemish people are Flemish-oriented, and would rather see Belgium split. They see the royal family as a big obstacle for the split. In times of economic hardship, the question also arises where the money goes. The coverage of royal activities is not always what it should be in Belgium, and people do not know what exactly they do or mean for the country.

See here for an article (in Dutch)

Of course most of them don't stop to think a President and Vice-President cost a lot of money as well - possibly even more than the royal family costs the Belgian tax payer right now. They also don't stop to think about the high regard a royal family still enjoys abroad, and the many doors economic missions etc lead by a member of the royal family might open.

Some people are just so narrow-minded...

[Marengo]

Originally Posted by LadyLeana

Apparently, according to a research, 1 out of 3 Belgians thinks all funding of the Royal family must be abolished. For them, the new rules are not strict enough. They wouldn't mind to see the Royal family to be stripped of all their dotations, even the King and Queen.

Reason for this, according to the research, is that more and more Flemish people are Flemish-oriented, and would rather see Belgium split. They see the royal family as a big obstacle for the split. In times of economic hardship, the question also arises where the money goes. The coverage of royal activities is not always what it should be in Belgium, and people do not know what exactly they do or mean for the country.

See here for an article (in Dutch)

Of course most of them don't stop to think a President and Vice-President cost a lot of money as well - possibly even more than the royal family costs the Belgian tax payer right now. They also don't stop to think about the high regard a royal family still enjoys abroad, and the many doors economic missions etc lead by a member of the royal family might open.

Some people are just so narrow-minded...

Indeed, a lot of angry, bored people around as everywhere I suppose.
And they don't care to use their brain and think that a republic costs more money, no instead they are just jealous of anybody who earns more money, who is more succesful, who has a bigger car etc and they ang, nag, nag, nag and nag.

Originally Posted by sgl

What are the Belgian Royal Family considered? Are they seen as not being Flemish? Are they seen as outsiders?

Not as outsiders but definately not as Flemish either.

[sgl]

What are the Belgian Royal Family considered? Are they seen as not being Flemish? Are they seen as outsiders?

It is interesting to hear about how the people themselves regard the royal family. I am an outsider, so of course my opinion isn't valid. I do come from a country without a monarchy, and I must say that financing a president and numerous other politicians is incredibly expensive. Elections are also expensive, and politicians don't bring in tourism revenue nor do they foster a sense of cultural pride (usually it is the opposite). Have the BRF released a statement regarding this research?

[sgl]

So are they seen as being more French than Belgian? I am curious as to why the public doesn't feel they are "of the people". Is this due to a language issue, or have laws been passed that favor the French-speaking Belgians more than the Flemish Belgians?

[LadyLeana]

Originally Posted by sgl

So are they seen as being more French than Belgian? I am curious as to why the public doesn't feel they are "of the people". Is this due to a language issue, or have laws been passed that favor the French-speaking Belgians more than the Flemish Belgians?

I certainly think many Flemish people feel like that, but the language politics is very complex, and also not really a subject matter here. When people have to give and take in a compromise situation, sometimes they only focus on what the other is taking, and not what they are getting in return. Unfortunately this has been the tendency amongst the media and political parties the last few years.

I don't think it's anything against the royal family as persons, more against what they represent - Belgium. On top of that, we have a Queen who doesn't speak Dutch very well, and our Princes and Princesses are not that much better. Not when you compare Maxima to Mathilde, for instance.

But maria-olivia is also right: whenever the royal family is on a visit somewhere in Flanders, they are welcomed very warmly. Don't forget, if 1 out of 3 Belgians is against the Royal family (because that's basically what it's about, not really the money), this means 2 out of 3 are still in favour.

Also, I have no idea how representative the study is, really. You only read about the generalizations, not the absolute figures. Besides, I wonder if anyone thought of saying this, but the current cost of the dotations for the royal family comes down to about 1 EUR per Belgian (not taxpayer, that would probably go up to 1,5 or 2 EUR) per year. How is this expensive, exactly?

[MAfan]

But I'm sure that when a Belgian Prince or King would behave and speak as a "true" Flemish, the French-speaking belgians would soon begin to protest in the same way Flemishes are doing now and since long time...

[maria-olivia]

LadyLeana, (wonderful avatar) , you are right some people are just narrow minded.
When The King of the Queen or other members of RF are visiting the flemish part of Belgium they don't need special bodyguards , but are respectfully and warmly welcomed.
The whole country regret that the minor royals do not have a payed job.; times are difficult for everybody nowadays!

[sgl]

When you break down the figures, 1 EUR per person is not at all unreasonable. If Belgium did away with the monarchy, people would still complain about the costs of government. It is inevitable, and people always find something to complain about.

Besides, the people who conducted the study would be out of a job if people weren't complaining about something.

[IslandDweller]

I hope it's true that 2 out of 3 Belgians support the monarchy. Other surveys seem less promising. I think the Belgian royals are great!! I hope they're around for a long time. Vive la Reine Elisabeth!!

Is it known if Astrid and Laurent have to pay staff and other expenses related to their duties out of their incomes? If so, then they're really not so well off. Princess Benedikte of Denmark receives a much lesser allowance, and it is expressly given to her to cover the travel and other things necessary to fulfilling her official obligations.