Koning walks in three-quarter time during a state visit to Vienna and does not feel completely at home by accident.
Willem-Alexander has been in Austria for more than half a century and he is not secretive about it. The family tradition of coming to Lech during winter sports was always visible, but that they also got to know Vienna like the back of their hand is a well-kept secret.
Here, just like in Paris, they walk the streets rather unconcernedly, as if they were tourists. Here Willem-Alexander speaks the language of his father and grandfather, although it is sometimes still ‘rusty’, as he said last year.
‘Art is life!’
The hand of the king’s master speechwriter Jan Snoek becomes visible when the king speaks before the mayor of Vienna, Michael Ludwig. Willem-Alexander goes wild in a declaration of love to the city. “How wonderful to be back in Vienna! The city where life naturally takes on a graceful three-quarter time. Life here has been elevated to art. And art is life here!”
And in the evenings at the state banquet, the king uses laudatory words about Vienna in his speech to Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen. “We Northwestern Europeans sometimes want to forget: not Brussels, but Vienna is the heart of Europe.” His evidence lies in the history and the seats of international organizations such as the UN and the OSCE.
Program resembles Dutch working visits
Not only does Vienna feel like coming home, but the program on the second day of the state visit also looks remarkably familiar. The Austrians have done their research well, because they look like working visits like the king makes in the Netherlands. It is the connecting side of royalty, not glamour, but showing interest. Media often only hear afterwards that the king was somewhere.
Take a visit to Sonnwendviertel, where the architecture contributes to ‘integration and social inclusion’. That could also just be a project from the daily Dutch practice of the king. Like four years ago with housing minister Ollongren in the Utrecht neighborhoods of Veemarkt and Overvecht. Many young people now grab their phones and take pictures in Sonnwendviertel.
Earlier that morning, integration and cultural exchange dominate in the Brotfabrik, where the organization Caritas explains community cooking. Austrian dishes and those from around the world are prepared and eaten by refugees. It could win an ‘Apple van Oranje’ in the Netherlands, an encouragement and confirmation of a successful social initiative.
‘After corona suddenly this!’
Ukrainian refugees sit down at the table in the Brotfabrik with the king and queen. They tell their story, Aleksander Fridrik, student from Odessa who fled to Austria in March. Or travel agent Olga Makarenko, who now also resides in Vienna. “After two years of corona, this is suddenly happening,” says Willem-Alexander.
They also speak with refugees in the Netherlands. “Many refugees who came to Ukraine had to flee for the second time,” says the king, showing his compassion. But the engines roar through the open doors and the visiting party knows: we must go. Máxima concludes: ,,I wish you all the best!”
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