Powers
The Prince of Liechtenstein has sweepingly broad powers; a referendum to adopt Hans-Adam's revision of the constitution to expand his powers passed in 2003. The changes also included a republican option, whereby the Prince was henceforth formally barred from vetoing any bill to establish a republic, but the Prince can veto any other law. In addition, the right to secede of the parishes that make up the Principality was recognized. Prince Hans-Adam had threatened that he and his family would move to Austria if the referendum had failed. Despite opposition from Mario Frick, a former Prime Minister, the Prince's referendum motion was carried by the electorate. Opponents accused Hans-Adam of engaging in emotional blackmail to achieve his goal and constitutional experts from the Council of Europe branded the event as a retrograde move.
On 15 August 2004 Prince Hans-Adam II formally turned the power of making day-to-day governmental decisions over to his son Prince Alois, as a way of transitioning to a new generation. Formally, Hans-Adam remains Head of State.
The U.S. Senate's subcommittee on tax haven banks has charged that the documents and information provided by Heinrich Kieber show that the LGT bank which is owned by the princely family, on whose board it serves and "is a willing partner, and an aider and abettor to clients trying to evade taxes, dodge creditors or defy court orders." For the same reasons, a 1999 German secret service report more bluntly described Liechtenstein as "a criminal state in the heart of Europe".
Read more about this topic: Prince Of Liechtenstein
Famous quotes containing the word powers:
“Magic and all that is ascribed to it is a deep presentiment of the powers of science.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Whenever any form of government shall become destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, & to institute new government, laying it’s foundation on such principles & organising it’s powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety & happiness.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
“There are souls that are incurable and lost to the rest of society. Deprive them of one means of folly, they will invent ten thousand others. They will create subtler, wilder methods, methods that are absolutely DESPERATE. Nature herself is fundamentally antisocial, it is only by a usurpation of powers that the organized body of society opposes the natural inclination of humanity.”
—Antonin Artaud (1896–1948)