Originally posted by wtshnnfb01:If it looks like a duck.
On paper the King / Queen is head of state, but it is mostly a ceremonial job. There always been discussion about going 'republic' but there was never a 2/3rd majority needed to change the constitution.Originally posted by Wikipedia
Scandal in the Netherlands
The news of the crown prince Willem-Alexander's relationship and eventual marriage plans to Maxima Zorreguieta caused controversy in the Netherlands. Máxima's father had been the Minister of Agriculture during the regime of former Argentine President Jorge Rafael Videla, a military dictator who ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1981 and who was responsible for many atrocities against civilians (An estimated 10,000–30,000 people disappeared during this and subsequent military regimes before democracy was restored to Argentina in 1983). However Jorge Zorreguieta had resigned one year before the end of the Videla regime and claimed that, as a civilian, he was unaware of the Dirty War while he was a cabinet minister. Professor Baud, who on request of the Dutch Parliament did an inquiry in the involvement of Zorreguieta, concluded that it would have been unlikely for a person in such a powerful position in the government to be unaware of the Dirty War.[1] Despite finding Zorreguieta to be at fault, the marriage between his daughter Maxima and crown prince Willem-Alexander was approved by parliament because Maxima herself had not done anything wrong, however Jorge Zorreguieta was not allowed to attend the wedding. Parliament's approval was necessary for Willem-Alexander to stay in line to the Dutch throne. During this time, the Dutch newspapers published an article called "Ich habe es nicht gewusst" which would have reminded the public of the Germans during World War II.