Prince Filip reprimands journalists
Aurora810 said:
I was looking for more info on the above story that Henri M. posted but I didn't find anything. I did however find info on a Navy embezzlement trial on yahoo. The article said that the RF could be "potentially embarassed by the scandal". But the article was from Jan. 9 and I don't know the results or if this is an embarassing thing for the royal family. So does anyone know more about this?
Please don't get mad or offended by any of my post I'm really just curious and trying to learn about different things.
Hi Aurora810
,
Prince Filip reprimands journalists
Thu 25/01/07 - An intervention by crown prince Filip during a reception last night is causing much consternation. The heir to the throne of the Belgians openly reprimanded two leading journalists: Yves Desmet, the editor-in-chief of the left-leaning daily De Morgen and Pol Van Den Driessche, the political editor-in-chief of the TV station VTM.
Prince Filip complained that the two editors-in-chief are responsible for reporting that puts him in a far too negative light.
The two editors are both Flemings.
In recent years there has been growing tension between the royal palace and forces seeking greater autonomy for Flanders. The bizarre reprimand occurred during a reception at the royal palace of Brussels to which the country's highest dignitaries had been invited...
...The prince told Pol Van Den Driessche that he couldn't stand the fact that he was friendly when he came to the palace, but criticised him elsewhere.
The prince continued: "If you go on like that, you will no longer be welcome at the palace".
Does the Prince know what freedom of the press is?
The commercial TV channel's political editor-in-chief later said he had the impression that the Prince didn't really know what the freedom of the press was all about.
Pol Deltour of the Flemish Association of Journalists is incensed by the fact that the Prince threatened to ban some journalists from the palace...
...A spokesman for the royal palace was later forced to concede that the conversation between the Prince and the editors-in-chief may have become unpleasant, but insisted all editors-in-chief remain welcome at the palace.
PM Guy Verhofstadt "Not appropriate"
Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt (Flemish liberal) says that the prince's attitude is not appropriate.
The Premier has also voiced his concern to the palace about the way the prince deals with the press.
It's not the first time that Prince Filip's relations with the media are strained.
Earlier several journalists and businessmen spoke out saying that he was not pulling his weight during an official trip to South Africa.
"Is he fit for the throne?"
In the daily Het Laatste Nieuws the paper's editor Luc Van der kelen wonders if Prince Filip is fit for the throne.
The daily also publishes a handy list of earlier slip ups by the Prince.
During a trip to South Africa the Prince repeats the same speech time and time again in which he compares Belgium to a diamond.
Business people complain the prince looked terribly uninterested.
The Prince also signed a document setting out a list of demands formulated by the Belgian Employers' Organisation VBO that was particularly critical of the government.
In 2004 during a trip to China the Prince attacked the far right Vlaams Belang political party in an interview with the glossy magazine Story.
In the interview the Prince said that in Belgium there were people and parties like Vlaams Belang that want to destroy our country.
He gave an assurance that they would find him on their way...
The rest (bits and pieces that I left out) [it's a really long article with diffrent sub-headings, not three diffrent articles] can be found here...
flandersnews.be - Prince Filip reprimands journalists
