BELGIUM: Albert Shows How

Straddling mountains is an exhilarating pleasure to King Albert (see cut). Straddling the “language issue” is an excruciating, chronic pain to Belgium’s successive prime ministers.

The issue: Belgians are linguistically a mixture of French speakers and Flemish speakers, each faction striving to oust the language of the other from Belgium’s schools. Last February the famed University of Ghent was made 100% Flemish-speaking by Parliament. Recently Minister of Science & Arts Maurice Vauthier decreed that no professor from the University of Ghent may teach in other Belgian colleges.

Although M. Vauthier is a Liberal, the Brussels Liberal Federation last week censured his act and. when he remained stubborn, his fellow liberal ministers and Prime Minister Henri Jaspar called at the Royal Palace, informed His Majesty that they had no option except to resign.

Jumping into the political fray. Mountain-Straddler Albert showed his statesmen how to do it. After four days of intensive negotiations behind-scenes, the cabinet withdrew their resignation, steadied the Brussels and Antwerp stock exchanges, which had begun to slip.

Devoted Belgians, grateful again to their able king, recalled with pride that their royal family is the only one in Europe whose members are careless of photographers. King Albert’s straddle and the remarkable pictures of Queen Eliza beth being let down backward from inspecting an Egyptian stone inscription last winter are two examples. Recently their daughter, Crown Princess Marie Jose of Italy, raised one royal leg high over the side of an Italian speedster, in order to climb out. heedless of the fact that lenses were looking.