D66 members will consider on Saturday whether the party is in favor of abolishing the royal family. The Young Democrats, the youth branch of D66, is submitting a motion to that effect. This happens after a plea for this from former party leader Alexander Pechtold. He believes that politicians should venture into the discussion of whether the Netherlands should still have a monarchy. He himself thinks the kingship is ‘no longer tenable’ and he thinks it would be good if Willem-Alexander were the last king.
D66 members got up very early on this sunny day in May to delight members with a flyer for the abolition of the royal family before the start of the congress at 9.15 am. They will meet on Saturday in the RAI in Amsterdam for their party congress. It is the first time they have met since the Provincial Council elections, which were disappointing for all government parties. The motion has caused quite a stir among D66 members. Dozens of them rush to the microphone when the motion is put to the vote.
“A president is no fun either,” says an opponent. A D66 member who says he has been allowed to work ‘for the United Nations’ explains: ,,I’ve seen what a difference it makes, a politician can be so good, but it really makes an impression when someone from the royal family is there. ”
But from among the proponents it sounds: ,,We can’t do this to Amalia”. And also: “Ten years ago the Royal Family was attacked by a car, Princess Amalia is threatened by the Mocro Mafia, vote for this motion.”
In D66, the discussion about the abolition of the royal family has been fueled. Former party leader Alexander Pechtold recently called for a vote in favor of a proposal to this end. The youth branch Young Democrats also speaks out in favor. “The monarchy has long passed its expiration date and that is why we as Young Democrats advocate abolishing it as soon as possible,” the D66 youth club writes in a manifesto for more direct democracy.
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‘End orderly’
“Why don’t we let the monarchy end in an orderly manner after Willem-Alexander?” Pechtold posed at the presentation of the book at the end of March. The Achilles heel of the King from AD reporter Jan Hoedeman. According to Pechtold, the discussion about the continued existence of the monarchy is not being held ‘out of discomfort’, with the risk that ‘slowly more and more frayed edges’ will appear on the royal family. According to him, therein lies the danger that the monarchy will come to an end in a chaotic manner.
That is ‘not good for politics’, Pechtold argued at the time. ,,And also not fair to the family involved here. A family that has not chosen this role either.” According to Pechtold, even Amalia would take into account ‘with refreshing sobriety’ that the Dutch monarchy is finite. She said earlier: “They can do the best, you know, then I will also continue with my life.”
Pechtold argues that the declining popularity figures of the royal family show that the legitimacy of the royal family is eroding. “Almost no one in our country believes that someone should get a job because he was born in a certain household. Let alone that someone is entitled to a job because one of his ancestors fought against Spain in 1572,” says Pechtold.
If the monarchy is not immediately abolished, but ends with the term of Willem-Alexander, the House of Representatives will have ‘all the time’ to properly conduct the discussion. “The current king will be on the throne for several decades. That is not the problem,” says Pechtold. The problem is political will. The political guts.”
The book The Achilles heel of the King is about more than 25 years of royal family reporting by political reporter Jan Hoedeman. In it he describes how Willem-Alexander is increasingly pushing the boundaries of his private domain, thereby harming the royal family. Pechtold received the first copy.
Today the members of D66 will vote on this motion. Keep an eye on the news on this site for the outcome of this motion.
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