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Occupy Liechtenstein? Popular Showdown With Monarchy In Europe's Richest Enclave

The Liechtenstein royal family has threatened to abandon the country if the public tries to limit their extensive range of powers. But leaving would force them to finally pay taxes on their billions.

Vaduz Castle, home to the Prince of Liechtenstein (Michael Gredenberg)
Vaduz Castle, home to the Prince of Liechtenstein (Michael Gredenberg)

*NEWSBITES

Locals in the wealthy alpine enclave of Liechtenstein are as famously attached to their monarchy as they are to their mountains. But one of these looming fixtures now risks suddenly disappearing – and it's certainly not the Alps.

The 62-square-mile principality is currently embroiled in a heated debate over the powers of the royal family which, according to the Constitution, has long held the right to veto the verdict of any public consultation. A popular movement to limit royal authority has prompted threats by Crown Prince Alois, who rules alongside parliament in the constitutional monarchy, to actually pack up his crown and leave Liechtenstein for good.

The question first arose last September when Alois made it very clear during a public referendum on the legalization of abortion that – regardless of the outcome – he would not authorize abortions to be carried out in his country. Although the public ended up voting against legalized abortion, Alois's earlier vow to ignore the will of his people was not forgotten.

A petition drive was recently launched dubbed "Yes for your voice to count," calling for the results of public referendums to be protected from the monarchy's veto. Alois explained the family's stance during a speech at the opening of Parliament. "The royal family is only prepared to continue its political responsibilities if they have the necessary tools to do so. Otherwise, we will withdraw from political life completely."

Sigvard Wohlwend, spokesperson for the petition, says it's hard to imagine the family leaving - for many reasons, including financial ones. With an estimated fortune of nearly $5.5 billion, the royal family is exempt from taxes in Liechtenstein which means that leaving the country would come with a serious financial price, not to mention the humiliation of losing their status of European heads of state.

The campaigners now have just six weeks to collect the 1,500 signatures necessary to force a referendum on the issue. It's worth noting that the public vote would not threaten the range of other privileges the royal family enjoys, including the right to block criminal investigations, to veto any law voted by parliament, to dissolve the parliament itself and even to dismiss the government and reign by decree. Perhaps the royal family fears that this initial limitation would put their privileges on a slippery slope - and as mountain people, they know where that could lead.

*Newsbites are digest items, not direct translations

Read the original article in full in French.

Photo - Michael Gredenberg

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The Weight Of Trump's Indictment Will Test The Strength Of American Democracy

The U.S. legal system cannot simply run its course in a vacuum. Presidential politics, and democracy itself, are at stake in the coming weeks and months.

The Weight Of Trump's Indictment Will Test The Strength Of American Democracy

File photo of former U.S. President Donald Trump in Clyde, Ohio, in 2020.

Emma Shortis*

-Analysis-

Events often seem inevitable in hindsight. The indictment of former U.S. President Donald Trump on criminal charges has been a possibility since the start of his presidency – arguably, since close to the beginning of his career in New York real estate.

But until now, the potential consequences of such a cataclysmic development in American politics have been purely theoretical.

Today, after much build-up in the media, The New York Times reported that a Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict Trump and the Manhattan district attorney will now likely attempt to negotiate Trump’s surrender.

The indictment stems from a criminal investigation by the district attorney’s office into “hush money” payments made to the adult film star Stormy Daniels (through Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen), and whether they contravened electoral laws.

Trump also faces a swathe of other criminal investigations and civil suits, some of which may also result in state or federal charges. As he pursues another run for the presidency, Trump could simultaneously be dealing with multiple criminal cases and all the court appearances and frenzied media attention that will come with that.

These investigations and possible charges won’t prevent Trump from running or even serving as president again (though, as with everything in the U.S. legal system, it’s complicated).

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