Majority want King to remain on the throne

Several surveys, already published or about to be, indicate that a majority of Belgians want King Albert II to remain on the throne. The surveys took place as Belgium prepares to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Albert’s reign, and rumours abound that he could soon abdicate in favour of his son Philippe. More than half (54%) of respondents want Albert to remain King of the Belgians, while 21% are willing to see Philippe succeed him, according to the findings of a survey conducted by Dedicated Research on a representative sample of 1,807 voters, with a maximum error margin of 4%) to be published tomorrow in the newsweekly Marianne. Of the 54% in favour of prolonging the reign of Albert II surveyed, 33% believe the sovereign can keep the entire protocol and his public activities, while 21% would rather he delegate these to his son. According to another survey commissioned by La Libre and RTBF (also conducted by Dedicated Research, among a representative sample of 2,703 voters, with a maximum error margin of 3.3%), 60% of respondents believe the king must remain at the helm; for 16% at least until after the 2014 elections and the formation of a government, for 10% for another two or three years and for 34% as long as his health permits.