King Philippe, Current Events 2, Sept. 2017 - Jan 2021


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eya said:
King Philippe welcomes Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel for a meeting at the Royal Palace in Brussels, today 27 May , after yesterday''s regional, federal and European elections.


https://www.belgaimage.be/#/gallery/6592649
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The election results were not good for the PM’s coalition and for the Belgian monarchy more broadly. King Philippe will have to show now if he has the same skill as his father during what is probably going to be a long government formation process.
 
Unlike in the Netherlands, where the Queen used to receive ALL fraction leaders in audience, the Belgian King has never received the separatic and republican Vlaams Belang as well the communist and republican TPB/PvdA (both THE winners of yesterday's National and Regional Elections). We will see if King Philippe will receive their leaders now, since they have become incontournable.

If he does not, it is the best plea to go the Dutch way and take the monarch out of the formation process. Exactly to protect the monarchy indeed.
 
Duc_et_Pair said:
Unlike in the Netherlands, where the Queen used to receive ALL fraction leaders in audience, the Belgian King has never received the separatic and republican Vlaams Belang as well the communist and republican TPB/PvdA (both THE winners of yesterday's National and Regional Elections). We will see if King Philippe will receive their leaders now, since they have become incontournable.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Presumably it could be justified on politically neutral grounds as long as all fringe parties were excluded from meeting the king. Or did the king readily meet with other smaller parties while shunning the republican ones?

Mbruno said:
King Philippe is being criticized for meeting the leader of the separatist Vlaams Belang party.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48454034
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Thanks. By whom is he being criticized? The expert quoted saying that the king cannot be politically partial seems reasonable.
 
Lots of Dutchmen would like to see the King having a role in the fornation process again. But exactly this situation: at the Dutch-speaking side King Philippe receiving the biggest party (N-VA) and the biggest winner (Vlaams Belang) which are both separatist and loudly republican and then at the Dutch-/French-speaking side the King receiving the marxist and republican TPB/PVDA: this is "not desirable".

Because of the veil of secrecy, the monarch is open to attack. We have seen that when Geert Wilders, the maverick right-wing Dutch politician, did attack Queen Beatrix in hostile tweets. We could have expected the same with Thierry Baudet, who would undoubtedly file the King under "deep state" and "party cartels" if the formation does not go his way.

By hindsight the new situation in the Netherlands: the King is informed on how the formation is going (after all he is the head of state and is in the Government himself) but has no active role, was a wise decision.

But... this is Belgium: will the newly elected Parliament even agree in appointing a formateur and the direction he/she has to go? The veil of secrecy (what happens behind these walls?), often criticized, is now welcomed by the very same politicians...

:whistling:
 
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Duc_et_Pair said:
Lots of Dutchmen would like to see the King having a role in the fornation process again. But exactly this situation: at the Dutch-speaking side King Philippe receiving the biggest party (N-VA) and the biggest winner (Vlaams Belang) which are both separatist and loudly republican and then at the Dutch-/French-speaking side the King receiving the marxist and republican TPB/PVDA: this is "not desirable".

Because of the veil of secrecy, the monarch is open to attack. We have seen that when Geert Wilders, the maverick right-wing Dutch politician, did attack Queen Beatrix in hostile tweets. We could have expected the same with Thierry Baudet, who would undoubtedly file the King under "deep state" and "party cartels" if the formation does not go his way.

By hindsight the new situation in the Netherlands: the King is informed on how the formation is going (after all he is the head of state and is in the Government himself) but has no active role, was a wise decision.

But... this is Belgium: will the newly elected Parliament even agree in appointing a formateur and the direction he/she has to go? The veil of secrecy (what happens behind these walls?), often criticized, is now welcomed by the very same politicians...

:whistling:
Click to expand...

I agree. The best way to shield the monarchy from attack is to remove the King from the government formation process and let someone like the Speaket of the House of Representatives run it instead.

King Albert Ii was accused in the past of being partisan and trying to steer the government formation process in a direction. that suited his own beliefs and the long-term future of the monarchy. As the article says, Albert refused for example to meet the Flemish separatists suggesting that he ruled out a priori any government formation that might include them.


King Philippe apparently is trying to project an. Image of neutrality by meeting all representative party leaders, including the far left and the far right, so, if the far right for example ends up out of the government, the King can rightfully shift the responsibility to the other parties , which refused to make a pact with VB, and therefore defend himself from any accusation of bias.

The problem is that , by trying to be neutral, the King also becomes vulnerable to criticism by the mainstream parties, which might accuse him of legitimizing or normalizing the likes of VB. Ironically, in an era where monarchs are asked to be non-partisan , it looks like many mainstream Belgian politicians still long for an activist. King who actually favors them as Albert did to a certain extent.

Again the only way out of this lose-lose situation would be for the King to be removed from the government formation process altogether.
 
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Vice-Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defence Didier Reynders and sp.a''s Johan Vande Lanotte met King Philippe for further consultations today, May 30:


** belga gallery **
 
.

Today, June 7, King Philippe attended a symposium marking the 50th anniversary of social welfare in Belgium:



** Pic 1 ** Pic 2 **
 
.

Today, June 17, King Philippe has received the elected informers Vice-Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defence Didier Reynders and Johan Vande Lanotte for another report after the elecetions:


** belga gallery **
 
King Philippe hosted a Roundtable conversation on climate change warming with six experts from different disciplines. The climate experts provide information about the latest developments in international, European and national climate policy, and about the policy priorities and social trends.⁣


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D9VVJH6XUAAz5Kr.jpg


King Philippe receive the President of Senegal Macky Sall

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D9WQYlNX4AEhcUJ.jpg


Audience with mr. Oliver Paasch for taking his oath as prime minister of the government of the German-speaking community.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D9WmRMBW4AUsjqt.jpg
 
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:previous:

Here are some more photos of the meeting and oath ceremony:


** belga gallery 1 ** belga gallery 2 **


Later King Philippe received Tony Elumelu, President of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) at the Royal Palace of Brussels:


** Pic **
 
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Today, June 19, King Philippe received the new Ambassadors of Switzerland, Zambia and Iraq:


** Pic 1 ** Pic 2 ** Pic 3 **
 
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King Philippe visited the International Labour Organisation in Geneva, Switzerland, today, June 20 for its centenary celebrations:



** Pic 1 ** Pic 2 ** belga gallery **


Later he also visited the World Trade Organization headquarters and met with Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo, Director General of the WHO:


** Pic **
 
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Professor Johan Martens of the the Center for Surface Chemistry and Catalysis of the KU Leuven was received by King Philippe today, June 24:


** Pic **
 
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This morning, June 25, King Philippe received Laura A. Potter, Director of Intelligence for the United States European Command:



** Pic **


Later King Philippe received the President of Slovakia Zuzana Caputova:



** Pic ** belga gallery ** gettyimages gallery **
 
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Also today Wouter Beke was sworn in as new Minister of Employment, Economy, Consumer Affairs and Equal Chances in the federal government:



** belga gallery **
 
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