A royal battle
The newspapers finally reported on something that actually qualifies as news: the Belgian government has agreed on something and a real change is pending with the blessing of the king.
As of the retirement or death of our current king, only the crown prince(ss) will receive a dotation from the Belgian tax payers, and only if and when that person is considered by the government to act in a manner appropriate for their function.
Today the entire royal family receives a dotation, sometimes on top of revenues from private entrepreneurial activities. Come the next king or queen, the rest of the family can get a job like everyone else. The only exceptions are the current crown prince’s brother and sister, whom royalists feel would be treated too cruelly if their dotations were taken away now at their age.
Still. This is a big step forward in a country where politicians mainly try to outnag each other. We’re not quite there yet, but I’m sure the verbal battle between republicans and royalists will continue for decades to come.
Whilst I’m not exactly a royalist by any stretch of the imagination, even the daft ones in most (not all) countries and certainly in the UK seem to me to be a whole lot more worth the money they cost than most (though, again, not all) politicians.
Hi AF,
Thanks for stopping by. You have a good point there.
At least (Belgian) royalty are usually the ones nurturing good relations with other countries, while politicians quibble about the language border: an issue that plays in the political scene entirely and hardly in the real life of Belgians.