King Albert II and Queen Paola - Current events part 4 - (July 2013 - current)

[Marengo]

I suppose they can vote blanco, which would be advisable perhaps.

 

[lucien]

To me it's still weird to see a king voting... I know he is no longer a reigning monarch but the custom that even direct heirs (and in that same line but slightly less problematic former sovereigns) vote to me undermines their impartiality which is an essential part of a monarchical system imo.

As to the last bit,yes,if that involves the Reigning Monarch,and only then.
But Filip is not to vote,his dad is and he is of no importance in the matter,
a citizen with rights and duties like everyone else.

 

[Somebody]

As to the last bit,yes,if that involves the Reigning Monarch,and only then.
But Filip is not to vote,his dad is and he is of no importance in the matter,
a citizen with rights and duties like everyone else.

Filip voted as direct heir. Just like Elisabeth and Guillaume vote nowadays, that to me is contrary to the system that singles them out as the next impartial head of state. Hopefully they indeed vote blanco (maybe they should announce so?!).

 

[lucien]

Filip voted as direct heir. Just like Elisabeth and Guillaume vote nowadays, that to me is contrary to the system that singles them out as the next impartial head of state. Hopefully they indeed vote blanco (maybe they should announce so?!).

No,they don't have to announce anything,the vote,if they did so,is private and everybodies right,except for the Reigning Monarch as I explained before.There's nada contrary about the right to vote for anyone but the Reigning Monarch.

 

[Somebody]

No,they don't have to announce anything,the vote,if they did so,is private and everybodies right,except for the Reigning Monarch as I explained before.There's nada contrary about the right to vote for anyone but the Reigning Monarch.

I never said they have to explain, I, however, would recommend they vote blanco and announce so (in systems where voting is an obligation - in any other case: just don't vote).

There was no need to explain as I know how it works but disagree that the system should be this way. In my opinion these things don't go well together. How can a Sovereign be impartial if until a day before he becomes monarch it is perfectly fine to vote (it's still the same person). Theoretically, he/she (because of a birth right) could be leading the process of forming a government while he/she himself voted for one of these parties. That doesn't sound impartial to me. If you want a partial/political head of state, that's fine too but that's not the basic principal of a monarchy.

Of course I understand that monarchs have their opinions but asking heirs to vote means asking them to support one political party over another while one of the premises of the current system is that they do exactly the opposite once monarch.

 

[Mbruno]

I never said they have to explain, I, however, would recommend they vote blanco and announce so (in systems where voting is an obligation - in any other case: just don't vote).

There was no need to explain as I know how it works but disagree that the system should be this way. In my opinion these things don't go well together. How can a Sovereign be impartial if until a day before he becomes monarch it is perfectly fine to vote (it's still the same person). Theoretically, he/she (because of a birth right) could be leading the process of forming a government while he/she himself voted for one of these parties. That doesn't sound impartial to me. If you want a partial/political head of state, that's fine too but that's not the basic principal of a monarchy.

Of course I understand that monarchs have their opinions but asking heirs to vote means asking them to support one political party over another while one of the premises of the current system is that they do exactly the opposite once monarch.

Although I personally think that heirs shouldn't vote either, I guess the key point is that, technically, the heir only takes part in the government formation process after he becomes king, so expressing a private partisan preference by casting a secret ballot while he is still the crown prince is not such a big deal.



In any case, whether he votes or not, the heir is not supposed to publicly back a particular party and I am pretty sure Philippe never did that as Duke of Brabant. On the other hand, I suppose some people would argue that his father, as king, was politically biased when he refused for example to meet with the Flemish separatists or the extreme left.

 

[An Ard Ri]

Is there anything planned to mark the 60th Wedding Anniversary of King Albert II and Queen Paola or will it be the usual non celebration lackluster Belgian non event?

 

[maria-olivia]

Alas An Ard Ri , Nothing . Perhaps in private between some members ....

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Although I personally think that heirs shouldn't vote either, I guess the key point is that, technically, the heir only takes part in the government formation process after he becomes king, so expressing a private partisan preference by casting a secret ballot while he is still the crown prince is not such a big deal.

Isn't the queen consort also allowed to refrain from voting? In contrast to the heir, she has no expectation of ever taking part in the government of the kingdom, so I am not sure why her nonpartisanship is more safeguarded than the heir's.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

Isn't the queen consort also allowed to refrain from voting? In contrast to the heir, she has no expectation of ever taking part in the government of the kingdom, so I am not sure why her nonpartisanship is more safeguarded than the heir's.

All Belgians have the obligation to show up at the polling station. But the statistics for the absentees show many ignore this obligation: the recent elections had a turn-out of 90%, so more than 10% of the electorate risks a sanction between 40-80 Euro (recidivists 200 Euro) but in practice a no-show is seldom sanctioned, these days.



By the way: it is also possibly to vote by post or by proxy. By doing so Queen Paola can have done her duty without us seeing.

 

[cdm]

Albert and Paola celebrated their diamond jubilee yesterday apparently.
It was the reason for King Philippe not to attend the broadcast of TV show Vive le velo which was aired from the gardens of Laeken.
https://m.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20190707_04498434

 

[maria-olivia]

Thank you cdm , I suppose it was private and no pictures so we don't know who was missing .

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Albert and Paola celebrated their diamond jubilee yesterday apparently.
It was the reason for King Philippe not to attend the broadcast of TV show Vive le velo which was aired from the gardens of Laeken.
https://m.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20190707_04498434

Hopefully, it is an indication that King Philippe and King Albert II are once more on speaking terms.

 

[Mbruno]

Hopefully, it is an indication that King Philippe and King Albert II are once more on speaking terms.

Have they ever been not on speaking terms ?

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Have they ever been not on speaking terms ?

I recall discussion here regarding period(s) of stopped contact between them. I think this may be the post uppermost in my recollection:

Edit: I just saw Wim Dehandschutter on BlauwBloed who claims that there is no private contact at all between Albert and Philippe.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

I recall discussion here regarding period(s) of stopped contact between them. I think this may be the post uppermost in my recollection:

No that was with Prince Laurent, the enfant terrible. It is with him (not with Claire and the children) that the couple has had problems.

With Prince Philippe and Princess Astrid there have always been contact but it is a public secret that Astrid is the trait d'union between the members in the closer and the wider royal family.

 

[maria-olivia]

I will never forgive them having been bad parents for young Children, away for Christmasses etc..
It was Hell at home said Prince Albert 's Mistresss.

 

[An Ard Ri]

Time to close this thread after 6 years you can find the new one Below
http://www.theroyalforums.com/forum...urrent-events-part-5-a-46585.html#post2237956