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My secret thoughts: the Belgians get a new king
SUNDAY 21 JULY 2013 BELGIAN NATIONAL DAY
On 21 July, Belgian National Day, the Belgians got a new monarch as Philippe I took over from Albert II as King of the Belgians. It was a relatively modest event compared to the massive fuss that surrounded the birth of a royal child in Britain the following day.
They tend to do things more quietly in Belgium, which fits the national character. At a time when many Belgians are facing hardship, it would have been obscene to have staged a glamorous pageant. So no gilded coach. No plumed cavalry trotting through the city. The whole thing was done on roughly the same budget as a minor Hollywood celebrity wedding.
On Place Royale, the columns of the royal chapel had been decorated with the colours of the Belgian flag, but a frites was covered with the stars and stripes (above). No one seemed to mind the mixed message.
Just a few weeks ago, we heard the news that King Albert had decided to abdicate. It came out of the blue, although the rumours had been circulating for months. Albert said he was too old to carry on his duties. It was time to hand over to his son Philippe.
The abdication ceremony took place earlier today in the Royal Palace. The swearing in of Philippe was conducted 90 minutes later in the federal parliament building on the other side of the park. For those 90 minutes in between ceremonies, the country was officially without a King.
Now we have a new King and everyone wants to know how he will perform. Philippe used to be seen as an unlikely heir, lacking the charisma of a King, but he has slowly won a certain degree of support from the Belgian people, helped by his marriage in 1999 to Mathilde. He has been transformed into a hand-on father who likes to play with his children and take them to school every day.
Of course a king needs to do more than just push his kids around in a wheelbarrow. For a Belgian monarch, there is the constant spectre that your country is about to fall apart. The oath you swear as king is to protect the country and hold it together, so that is how you will ultimately be judged. In less than a year, King Philippe is likely to face a major crisis when the country votes a new government and he is called on to help form a stable coalition. The last time round, it took 541 days to form a government. Next time, it might never happen at all.
Some commentators are now predicting that the first King Philippe will turn out to be the last King of the Belgians. The country might simply cease to exist during his reign. The pressure towards a final split is much stronger in the prosperous Dutch-speaking region of Flanders. The French-speakers in the south are more positive about the idea of living in Belgium. But no one believes it will be easy to hold it together.
The celebrations today were certainly fairly modest compared to the crowds that lined the streets of London last year. On Place du Luxembourg, a large screen had been set up so that the crowds could watch the ceremony. But when I passed at 11.30, just before Philippe was sworn in as king, I counted 10 people watching along with 12 police officers with nothing much to do (below).
I don't think that you can conclude that the Belgians do not support the monarchy. It's just that they do so quietly, without too much fuss. They support the institution even if they have some reservations about Philippe.
Earlier in the day, when the royal family emerged from Brussels Cathedral, the King spent a long time talking to people in the crowd, shaking hands and accepting little gifts. It was clear that he was relaxed, happy to be chatting. The security was low key, suggesting that he has the people behind him.
Of course there are dissenting voices in Belgium. This country is one of the most argumentative democracises in the world. Just about everyone has a different opinion on how things should be run, which is why it takes 541 days to even get a government.
But the protests rarely violent and often tinged with Belgian Surrealism. So the Musée du Slip, the Underpants Museum, had contributed to the day's celebrations by posting photographs of Philippe and Mathilde wearing underpants on their heads.
I think that says something positive about Belgium. In other countries, you would be attacked by a mob or flung into prison for insulting the monarchy. But Belgium doesn't take itself too seriously in these matters.
No one knows how Belgium will evolve over the coming months and years. But one thing for sure is that it will continue to support the idea of a united Europe. At this year's ceremonies, the European national anthem was played along with the Belgian anthem. This was a first.
As he made his last speech to the Belgians, Albert stressed the importance of Belgium remaining at the heart of Europe. Some things are taken very seriously in Belgium. Europe is one of them.
Derek Blyth
Brussels
They used to joke in Belgium that it always rained on the National Day. They even had a name for it. They called it la drache nationale, the national downpour. But this year the sun shone in a clear blue sky. It could be a sign that things are going to get better for this little divided country at the" heart of Europe.
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