It’s that time of year again: what shall we do with the monarchy. At Soestdijk the royals aren’t worried. It’s just a ritual, they say. Any proposal to propel the monarchy into the 21st century has inevitably ended up in a crumpled heap against a conservative wall. What the papers say.

The Friesche Dagblad writes: ‘One thing is certain: any attempt at changing the role of the monarch is doomed to failure. Plans to restrict the political influence of the queen have traditionally ended up gathering dust in a drawer. The two thirds majority needed to remove the monarch from the government (PVV) and withdraw the royal right to be chairman of the Council of State (PvdA) is never going to materialise.’ VVD, CDA, SGP and ChristenUnie are all against the reforms and are sitting on more than a third of the parliamentary seats.
Up to parliament
Will there be any changes at all? ‘Quite possibly yes’, the paper says. But any change will depend on the type of monarch that happens to be sitting on the throne, not on an official job description. ‘Much also depends on how much room for manoeuvre is given to the monarch by parliament. A good example is the process of cabinet formation. Last year, tongues were wagging about queen Beatrix’ choice of formateur (the person putting together a new cabinet). It showed her disapproval of the formation of a cabinet with the support of silent partner PVV, it was said. This sort of thing can be easily avoided-if parliament wanted to take the formation in hand itself it could decide to do so tomorrow- but going to the palace Noordeinde and hiding behind the formateur also provide politicians with an opportunity to play their cards close to their chests when casting around for potential cabinet partners.’
Hate
Another reason why both the PvdA and the PVV proposals will never be worth more than the paper they are written on, according to the Friesch Dagblad is that ‘the two hate each other’s guts and will never support anything the other party is in favour of.’
Unifying
Nrc sides with those who see the monarchy essentially as good pr and a chance to look at some nice frocks but hopes that ‘the unifying role of the royals will continue when the new king ascends the throne. But in a modern democracy a head of state that hasn’t been elected directly or indirectly should not influence matters of state, no matter how small their input actually is.’
Dubious motives
The Volkskrant quotes historian Cees Fasseur who in his book ‘De gekroonde republiek (The crowned republic) writes that Geert Wilders may not be driven by ‘purely constitutional motives’. It was Wilders, after all who said the queen should ‘leave the government post haste’ when she in her Christmas speech spoke of an ‘increasingly intolerant society’. He also called princess Maxima’s comments on the elusiveness of a clear Dutch identity ‘nonsensical’.
The paper calls the PVV proposal ‘a solid piece of work but just as ceremonial as the monarchy it wants to see.’