2023-07-19 04:35:00
It is within this framework that each of the seven Belgian kings exercised his functions, according to his personality and the historical and political context in which he evolved. After 10 years of reign, lines of force emerge in the way Philippe conceives his political role.
1. A central place for the Regions and Communities
”Belgium’s strength also lies in its federated entities. I intend to maintain constructive contacts with their managers, declared Philippe in his very first royal speechbefore the assembled chambers, on the occasion of his taking the oath, on 21 July 2013. I am convinced that cooperation between the Federal State, the Communities and the Regions will operate to the greatest benefit of our citizens and our businesses.”
During the crisis of 2010-2011, Albert II had accepted by covering his nose to entrust a short-term mission to Bart De Wever, president of the N-VA.
This passage had been welcomed by observers of political life. At the time, the Di Rupo government had emerged after a record political crisis of 541 days, in 2010-2011, linked to the extreme difficulty of concluding the sixth state reform demanded by the Flemish parties. “The new state reform […] will better meet the challenges of the future,” the new King said in the same speech.
King Philippe during his swearing in on July 21, 2013 before the united chambers.
The attention paid to Regions and Communities has been translated into action. Philippe regularly receives in audience, at the Palace, the ministers of the federated entities, while they do not take an oath before him, unlike the federal ministers and the minister-presidents of the entities. He had also innovated by inviting Minister-Presidents to take part in State visits, which had never happened. The seventh King of the Belgians fully integrated the federal nature of the State, more so than his predecessors, Baudouin and Albert II, who had nevertheless supported the decentralization process.
King Philippe regionalizes state visits
Similarly, during thematic visits abroad, for example on work-study education (in Germany and Switzerland) or on re-employment (in Denmark), Philippe takes all the ministers in his luggage concerned by the matter, whether they come from the federal government or federated entities.
2. The N-VA, a party like the others
In the mind of Philippe and his entourage, the N-VA is a party like any other. This was not the case in the days of King Albert. During the crisis of 2010-2011, Albert II had accepted by covering his nose to entrust a short-term mission to Bart De Wever, president of the N-VA. When the Nationalists had finally been excluded from the negotiations, it was a relief for the Palace.
Bart De Wever, president of the N-VA, was named “informant” by King Albert in 2010. ©Belga
That era is over. As part of the government training processes that he accompanied, in 2014 and in 2019-2020, Philippe had easily entrusted missions to N-VA agents. And the Michel government was born in 2014 with the N-VA on board, without this raising any particular concerns at the Palace. Barely, the latter had ensured behind the scenes that the powers of the King were preserved during the legislature – the power to sanction laws, to appoint and dismiss ministers, and to lead the process of forming the federal government.
3. It paces the formation of governments
In the aftermath of the elections, the King is in control of designating, after consultation with the main political leaders, the personalities responsible for trying to form the future executive (informants, trainers or other pre-formers). All the parties represented in parliament accept this situation, even if some would like to withdraw this role.
The King also sets deadlines, asks for a report. “It’s usually when a meeting with the King approaches that things change,” says a wise observer of political life. The King, in a way, sets the pace for the formation of the government, even if the negotiations strictly speaking are the sole responsibility of the political leaders.
It’s a safe bet that the president of Vlaams Belang will be received at the Palace again after the June 2024 elections.
“His first compass is the result of the elections”, we breathe. However, the political and parliamentary landscape has been turned upside down in recent years. The N-VA became the country’s leading party in 2014, the Vlaams Belang and the PTB grew dramatically in 2019, so that the traditional ruling parties – socialists, liberals and centrists – are no more than a shadow themselves, especially in Flanders. The King must take these developments into account.
Tom Van Grieken, president of Vlaams Belang, was received by the King at the Palace in Brussels in 2019. ©Photo News
It is in this context that we must understand the invitation launched by the King to Tom Van Grieken, president of the Vlaams Belang (VB), the day after the May 2019 elections, when the far right is in principle not not received at the Palace. Philippe had wanted to avoid snubbing the 810,000 voters of Belang, without however considering that this party had a role to play in the exercise of power. The approach had been relatively well accepted by Francophones. And it’s a safe bet that the president of the VB will be invited to the Palace again after the June 2024 elections.
How the political world reacts after the royal audience of Tom Van Grieken
When the King appoints a charge de mission, it is in the hope that he can constitute – “ideally as quickly as possible” – a solid parliamentary majority on the basis of the distribution of seats between parties, with a majority in each language group. It is for this reason that the King had pushed in 2019-2020 the constitution of a government associating the PS and the N-VA, the two largest parties in the Chamber. But it was ultimately a Vivaldi coalition, without the N-VA and without a majority in Flanders, that had emerged.
How the King’s political influence weighed during the federal negotiations4. In the closed door of the singular colloquium
Leopold II was at the origin of the colonization of the Congo, Albert I led the troops in combat during the First World War, Baudouin refused to sign the law legalizing abortion and, in general, the first five kings of the Belgians had more or less a reputation for meddling in government affairs. The times have changed. It takes little risk to say that Philip – and Albert II before him – will never allow himself the same latitudes as his predecessors. He knows his place, his role and the evolutions of society.
This does not prevent the King from being able to say frankly what he thinks of his interlocutors, but only behind closed doors of the singular colloquy. The secrecy of conversations with the King is sacred because the latter must send back an image of neutrality, keep a position above the fray. The secrecy of the singular colloquium has only exceptionally been violated.
5. Favorite themes
This reserve does not mean that the King never reveals what he is thinking. But it must do so with finesse and subtlety, without causing a divide in society. It will draw the attention of public opinion to major societal issues through speeches, meetings or visits.
He likes to emphasize the importance of social cohesion? In 2017, the King visited a Muslim family in Ghent to break the fast with them. Does it emphasize environmental issues? He welcomed the commitment of young people in the marches for the climate, or went to Oman, in February 2022, to promote green hydrogen. Interested in social entrepreneurship? He made it one of the themes of his state visit to Portugal.
Philippe and Mathilde, alongside Felix Tshisekedi during the welcome ceremony at Kinshasa airport. ©BELGA
The examples are legion. Let us also point to his letter addressed to the Congolese president, in June 2020, in which he expressed his “deepest regrets” for the abuses committed during the colonial period. A message repeated during a site visit two years later.
In a letter addressed to Félix Tshisekedi, King Philippe expresses his “deepest regrets”
The King has real freedom of action and initiative. But he can never go against the will of the government. The King reigns, but does not govern…
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