Frankly, most of us expected that not all was right in the Grand Duchy. At least concerning the cour grand-ducale - and media reports seem to confirm that. The ever-accelerating personnel merry-go-round, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa pulling out of a state visit at the last minute for undisclosed reasons, and more. Turns out, it is all apparently connected.
In yesterday's issue, Feierkrop reports that there weren't actually family reasons for the Grand Duchess not attending any events related to the state visit of the Romanian president. Instead she was angry that the government had apparently put the personnel policy of the cour in question, after all three spokespersons left in the last eight months or so, and that's only the tip of the (public) iceberg.
The story apparently started with Chantal Selva, an external adviser entrusted with the reorganisation of the cour. For national day, Mrs Selva was listed to be awarded with an order for her services. It then turned out that she had withheld a conviction. Her contract was dissolved but the government still wanted to ask a few questions about the hiring policies of the cour as they are the ones who approve their budget, half of which goes into paying the cour's employees. Something that Grand Duchess Maria Teresa was apparently so upset about that she left for Switzerland and declined to attend any events related to the state visit.
According to media reports the management skills of Chantal Selva were questioned. Allegedly, there is a poisoned working climate and the reorganisation has also brought about the hiring of a number of French nationals, who all knew each other beforehand.
On June 8, the day after the state visit, Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, Deputy Prime Minister Etienne Schneider and the Minister of Justice Félix Braz held a long-scheduled meeting. However, due to recent occurences said meeting was mostly about the personnel policies of the cour. According to the reports, the government is trying to limit the damage and avoid a crisis of the monarchy - and that's probably what everyone in this story should do.
And to end with how RTL put it: The government is also working on a new constitution. Naturally this one will include a paragraph or two about the the head of state. Apparently, the new constitution will state that the heir of reigning Grand Duke or Grand Duchess will become their regent in case of an illness or another reason that makes it necessary - and not their spouse. Honni soit qui mal y pense.
And to end with how RTL put it: The government is also working on a new constitution. Naturally this one will include a paragraph or two about the the head of state. Apparently, the new constitution will state that the heir of reigning Grand Duke or Grand Duchess will become their regent in case of an illness or another reason that makes it necessary - and not their spouse. Honni soit qui mal y pense.
