In Europe, most of the monarchs are primarily figureheads. They represent their country and the government which has the real power despite the King or Queen being the head of state. But at times, those sovereigns play a role in forming a government, especially when the powers that be do not make peace with one another.
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That is what is happening for two European monarchs: Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and King Albert II of Belgium. Since recent elections or government failures, both heads of state have been seeking to keep the political spectrum of their countries steady and firm, and that is easier said than done.
For starters, in the Netherlands, Queen Beatrix has seen the forming of a coalition government fail twice times in recent days. The coalition is meant to put together the conservative VVD, the Christian Democrats (CDA) and the anti-Islam Freedom Party (PVV).
This is the second time a coalition government collapsed since the elections in June. The former coalition also fell apart in February. This means Holland has been without a government for most of the year.
Already, the Queen has appointed five politicians to mediate between the three parties with little success from them. She recently named Tjeenk Willink, vice president of the Council of State, to be the mediator. It is his job to conduct rounds of consultations with parliamentary political leaders and report back to Beatrix on the situation and what steps should be taken.
The problem is, the center-right Liberal Party VVD, and the conservative CDA, both of which won 52 seats in parliament, are looking to form a coalition together. However if they do, that would mean dealing with the Freedom Party, led by Geert Wilders. The CDA is against any agreements with Wilders’ controversial party, which won 24 seats in June’s elections, because of its anti-immigration and anti-Islam stance.
Talks fell apart last Friday after Wilders said he didn’t believe the CDA could get its members into working with the Freedom Party in a long-term deal to create a stable government, and that any coalition would collapse in a few months.
“The confidence in the stability within the Christian Democratic Party dropped to an all-time low. We had no confidence that we could count on a majority within parliament,” Wilders said at a news conference.
When talks began, the parties said they would try to find €18 billion ($23.1 billion) in budget cuts in a bid to close the country’s deficit. Currently, the Netherlands’ fiscal shortfall is rising. It is set to widen to 6.6% of gross domestic product this year from 5.3% in 2009, taking the country’s public debt to 66% of gross domestic product.
VVD party leader Mark Rutte said his advice to Queen Beatrix will be that he writes a government policy plan. Other parties can then choose to support such an agreement.
“I think this is a logical next step,” he said. “This country needs a government. This, of course, already is taking way too long.”
REUTERS/Thierry Roge
Over in neighboring Belgium, King Albert II is not only seeking a government form, but also keep his country from disbanding. Clashes between the Dutch speaking Flemish and the francophone Walloons continue to trouble the Kingdom, with calls to split the country becoming more strife.
Last Saturday, the mediator between the warring parties quit, sending Belgium back into political crisis. This happened almost three months after an election that was meant to restart the Belgian government.
Earlier this year, another coalition collapsed when the two warring linguistic communities could not settle an electoral dispute over the region around Brussels.
King Albert’s next step is to ask representatives from each community to negotiate once again.
“The King … charged the speakers of the lower house and the senate with the mission of mediation of restarting negotiations to form a government,” the palace said in a statement.
While the Flemish parties are pushing for more powers for their region, the Walloons fear that their region, which is poorer, will lose out, and that the process will eventually lead to Belgium breaking up.
Sources: Radio Netherlands Worldwide, Wall Street Journal, Reuters
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