Voters of Liechtenstein reject initiative for more democracy

[ZuWo]

Results

Background information in English

Roughly 75% of the people of Liechtenstein voted no on an initiative which sought to cut the powers of their head of state, Prince Hans-Adam II. The initiative "Damit deine Stimme zählt", which would have made it impossible for the Prince to veto popular initiatives, was soundly defeated. Thus, Prince Hans-Adam II retains his power to veto both parliamentary and popular decisions.

Ironically, even if the voters had approved of this initiative, it would not necessarily have translated into more democratic rights for the people - Prince Hans-Adam II could simply have vetoed the decision.

[ZuWo]

Happy to live in a republic.

The opponents of the initiative seem to have managed to turn this initiative into a fundamental debate on Liechtenstein's monarchy. The monarchy, the most important identity marker of Liechtenstein, is extremely popular, and any political group which tries to attack the royal family or calls for the abolishment of the monarchy remains a fringe movement. Additionally, the fact that the Prince threatened to make use of his veto rights in the past probably discouraged supporters of the initiative - why vote if the head of state vetoes the initiative anyway?

[ZuWo]

Results

Background information in English

Roughly 75% of the people of Liechtenstein voted no on an initiative which sought to cut the powers of their head of state, Prince Hans-Adam II. The initiative "Damit deine Stimme zählt", which would have made it impossible for the Prince to veto popular initiatives, was soundly defeated. Thus, Prince Hans-Adam II retains his power to veto both parliamentary and popular decisions.

Ironically, even if the voters had approved of this initiative, it would not necessarily have translated into more democratic rights for the people - Prince Hans-Adam II could simply have vetoed the decision.

Does the Prince actually veto anything?

I am not sure whether the Prince has ever used his veto, but he threatened to veto an initiative which attempted to legalize abortion not too long ago. As a result, turnout was very low and the initiative failed narrowly.