Should the Netherlands remain a monarchy? – Joop

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reading time 4 minutes

Who becomes head of state in the Netherlands is determined by birth. And that does not fit in a democracy.

Now that the popularity of the House of Orange is waning, the Netherlands should seriously ask itself the above question. Should we remain a monarchy?

The Netherlands is a democracy. And whatever you think: democracy and the rule of law in our country fortunately still function well. Except for one point: the head of state. Who becomes head of state in the Netherlands is determined by birth. And that does not fit in a democracy. All levels of government in our country, from the municipal council to the government, are elected and/or appointed in a democratic manner, although the appointment of mayors and King’s Commissioners is still subject to compromise in terms of democratic legitimacy. But back to our head of state. It has been clear from birth that the eldest child of the then usually heir apparent will again become heir apparent and therefore monarch of our country and the child in question is prepared for this.

First of all, its democratic legitimacy, or rather: the lack of legitimacy. In a democracy, in my opinion, the head of state should also be democratically elected. Germany has a wonderful system for that. The Bundesversammlung elects the Federal President once every five years. The Bundesversammlung has the sole task of making elections and consists of all democratically elected representatives from the national parliament, the Bundestag and an equal number of people elected by the parliaments of the federal states. Every German aged forty or older can stand as a candidate. The condition is that one may not hold office, engage in trade or practice a profession. And you are not allowed to sit on supervisory bodies of companies. There must be no conflict of interest before you put yourself forward as a candidate. The Federal President must be above the parties and, if there is already party membership, he must leave it alone. And for as long as the Federal Republic of Germany has existed, the country’s presidents have neatly met all these requirements.

Such a protocol would be a good example for the election of a president in the Netherlands. And of course the Netherlands has no federated states, but 150 representatives from the 12 Provincial Councils, in addition to the members of the House of Representatives, should be possible to elect a president. With this system you prevent a president from being elected solely based on the issues of the day. Moreover, the German president may only be re-elected once in his life.

Then the rule of law of a head of state by birth. Article 10 of the Constitution states:

1. Everyone has the right to respect for his or her personal privacy, subject to restrictions imposed by or pursuant to the law.
2. The law sets rules to protect privacy in connection with the recording and provision of personal data.
3. The law sets rules regarding the rights of persons to inspect data recorded about them and the use made thereof, as well as to improve such data.

The first paragraph is especially important here. If it is already determined at the birth of a child what office he or she should hold in the future, his or her personal privacy is not respected.

Everyone has the right to live their lives as they wish, within the framework of laws and regulations. Amalia from Oranje Nassau does not have that. She may not become a lawyer, nurse, doctor, municipal official, or road worker. No, whether she wants it or not, she is being prepared for kingship. Her whole life is dedicated to that kingship. And once you are an adult, you also have to take care of inheritance. So, whether you want children or not: as a future monarch you just have to ensure that there is at least one prince or princess. This has seriously endangered our monarchy several times. Wilhelmina had three older brothers, all of whom died prematurely and it is a miracle that Wilhelmina herself was born with a father who was said to have suffered from syphilis due to his dissolute life, but that is besides the point.

Amalia must become queen and if she did not want to, she could in principle abdicate, but then she saddles her sister Alexia, who has been allowed to become whatever she wants to a greater or lesser extent, with that dilemma. You just have to want it. And if Alexia in turn didn’t want it, the same story towards Ariane. People, what are we doing to these nice, intelligent young women in 2024? Let all three of them choose the profession they want.

Stop that old feudal system, which was also imposed on us by Great Britain and Germany in the early 19th century. After all, the Netherlands was a republic before French rule. The Republic of the United Netherlands. And yes, there are also a few things to note about that, because democracy was still a long way off there and hereditary succession also determined power there, but that was a very different time. In 2024, the Netherlands is one of the best functioning democracies in the world. Except for that one point, the head of state.

And we will talk about those mayors and commissioners at some point.