(Swedish) King faces curbs over Brunei row

Baharain Daily News ^ | February 12 2004

[fdsa2]

STOCKHOLM:

King Carl XVI Gustaf's praise of the Sultan of Brunei has touched off such an outcry in Sweden that the king may see some of his few remaining powers clipped, officials said.

A number of Swedish parliamentarians have called for more curbs on the monarch after he told Swedish public radio during a visit to the sultanate on Monday that Brunei was "a country which is much more open than one may imagine".

"Every Sunday, (Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah) holds an open audience where anyone who wants to can come and present his wishes, and presumably his complaints also," he said.

But according to the Swedish foreign ministry's 2003 report on human rights in Brunei, "The sultan rules with unrestricted power."

The report notes that a state of emergency has been in place in the sultanate since 1962 and that parliament is suspended. The sultan "rules by decree".

In Sweden, which has repeatedly criticised Brunei's human rights record, the king's comments caused an uproar both in the media and among politicians.

"It was perhaps a little thoughtless but it was not my intention to step into the debate on Brunei's form of government," the king admitted, according to a spokeswoman for the royal palace, Elisabeth Tarras-Wahlberg.

But the king's apology did little to soften the criticism against him.

"It is irresponsible for him to be sent to a dictatorship without a minister who can present political criticism," Swedish Liberal deputy Birgitta Ohlsson said.

Goeran Magnusson, the vice-chairman of the constitutional standing committee, for instance, suggested yesterday that the foreign policy panel, headed by the king, should be discontinued.

Heading the panel, where parliament representatives outline Sweden's foreign policy, is one of the king's few remaining political tasks.

[fdsa2]

Royal Gaffes are not new, he is not a media trained spin-ass politician and this outcry will eventually strengthen the Royalties. Another fabulous remarks comes from our Crown Princess Victoria who recently said "I don´t like positive discrimination, I would not like to receive a job by affirmative action but by merits." This after having the Swedish Constitution rewritten at birth to allow a female succesor and of course any one can apply for her future position....

Despite it all I adore our royalties, their appanage is the best 4 Mn Euro advertisment money Swedish tax payers money can buy.

And they still have some catching up to in order to be in the same class as Prince Phillip whom I am sure the Brits still revere. How about the following gold nuggets:

During a visit to China in 1986, he described Beijing as "ghastly" and told British students: "If you stay here much longer you'll all be slitty-eyed."

And on encountering a Briton on a 1993 visit to Hungary he joked "you can't have been here that long - you haven't got a pot belly" - in what was seen as an unflattering allusion to the national cuisine.

He was savaged by the media when he quipped during a visit to an Edinburgh electronics company that an unsophisticated fusebox looked as if it had been "put in by an Indian".

And in 1995 he asked a Scottish driving instructor: "How do you keep the natives off the booze long enough to pass the test."

Even Andrew has wandered into controversy

In May 1999 he upset deaf people during a visit to the new Welsh Assembly when he spoke to members of the British Deaf Association who were standing near a band, pointed to the musicians and said: "Deaf? If you are near there, no wonder you are deaf."

The Duke of York angered residents in Elgin in 1997 by suggesting they had got off lightly compared to the Royal Family in the Windsor Castle fire, despite around £60m worth of flood damage in Morayshire

[DManA]

My Swedish immigrant grandfather HATED the king.

[Charles Henrickson]

to the Swedish Ping List.

[Consort]

[fdsa2]

I am not surprised since its rather recently the king was stripped of all powers and is head of state by name only. Before that they did have some clout and even Sweden is divided about Republicans and Royalists. In my opinon they are a valuable PR firm "Kungahuset AB" who travel around the globe with Swedish businessmen trotting behind pushing their goods. They are relatively cheap (considering they have to pay for all the castles, travels and staff) compared what a PR firm would cost and more importantly, they deliver results (and the occasional gaffe as well) as we sell JAS Gripen, Volvos and Saabs, IT/Telecom products and services.

[Charles Henrickson]

I'm reminded of Van Morrison's song, "Brunei Girl."

[TheBigB]

Do you have Princess Madeleine's phone number? =D

[fdsa2]

LOL! She can be found hanging out at a club called Kharma just next to Stureplan every other weekend with her bratpack... You just have to get pass her minders.

But she´s quite the party girl, I think there are still pictures of her riding around (in disguise) at the Gothenburg Horse Show together with a Ms. Bayard (sorry can´t link in a photo) and a couple of other friends in lingerie to a Spice Girls tune...

Guess even Bush´s daughters would approve of her.

[Charles Henrickson]

Do you have Princess Madeleine's phone number?

I think martin_fierro has it.

Here is Princess Madeleine when she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiques:

[DManA]

She looks exactly like my niece. Maybe my family's related. Too late to ask Grandpa though.

[TheBigB]

And a very prize physique that is...

[martin_fierro]

All I can say is (dusting off best Swedish):

"Hübbå Hübbå!"

[AzSteven]

I ran into Princess Madeleine and the King (in his case almost literally) at Mantorp a couple of years ago. I was there becuase my company sponsors a car in the race, so there were tickets available and as the Token American they thought I would want to go to a race.

I had a pit pass, and after my cowrokers and I had wished our driver good luck, I headed out to the seating area and this nicely-dressed guy flaked by two largish men crossed in front of me, and I nearly walked right into him. My companions all began to laugh, and when I asked why they told me "You nearly slammed into our King! That might have meant war you know".

After the race, I saw the Princess at the reception, and I can assure you she is vastly prettier in person than in that picture.

[TheBigB]

LOL You might well have, at that! :) From what I gather, Sweden's Royals are very much beloved for their down-to-earth style.

[RogerFGay]

What the King said about it; is that he was misunderstood. He said his comment dealt exclusively with how he and his wife had been treated while they were there.

The King and the prime minister had a chat today, and the prime minister said he wanted a review of procedures for state visits by the King.