King's holiday speech addresses climate, geopolitical and technological upheaval

Belgium’s King Philippe used his traditional speech on the eve of the 21 July national holiday to express concern about a number of climate, geopolitical, technological and social issues.

Maintaining an optimistic tone, the king called for greater cooperation, humanity and compassion.

“In June, exceptionally early in the year, our country experienced a heatwave of unprecedented intensity and duration,” he began.

“We have all suffered as a result, but it is once again the most vulnerable who are paying the heaviest price - the elderly, those in precarious living conditions and those who are completely on their own.”

The king emphasised the power of community and expressed admiration for carers, organisations and everyone who looks after patients, asking: “Should we not take a leaf out of their book and bring more humanity and compassion into our society?”

Also mentioned were the major challenges facing public finances, with the king expressing support for fiscal measures aimed at reducing the budget deficit and debt management, citing a backdrop of “unpredictable interest rates and energy prices, and at a time when investment in our defence has become unavoidable”.

The king sought to reassure the public by stating that he was “convinced that our governments will be able to overcome these obstacles, through consultation and in a spirit of fairness” and emphasised that this requires cooperation between all regions of the country on employment matters in particular.

In his view, “enhanced cooperation [between public employment agencies]” and “greater worker mobility between regions can help to create more jobs”.

The king also used a portion of the speech to address cognitive disorders and the plight of those who suffer from them, and pointed out that dementia was the focus of one of the current exhibitions at the Royal Palace.

Problems in education were also mentioned in the speech, with the king noting that the school community was under “enormous pressure” and that “virtually all of society’s problems converge there and weigh more heavily than ever on the shoulders of our teachers”.

The king named poverty, climate change, the decline in biodiversity and the depletion of natural resources as global challenges.

“From our budget deficit and the polarisation of society to geopolitical instability and global warming, all these problems have very different causes and consequences,” the king said in concluding his annual speech.

“But they all have one thing in common: we will only be able to overcome them if we focus on what unites us rather than what divides us.”

Photo: Belgian monarchy/Facebook