Prince gets his way
The week's news at a glance.
Liechtenstein
The people of Liechtenstein voted to give Prince Hans-Adams II the powers of an absolute monarch after he petulantly threatened to move to Austria. The perpetually tanned, billionaire prince finally won everything he has been demanding for the past 10 years—including the power to appoint and dismiss the government and veto legislation. Hans-Adams’ family has governed the tiny principality of 33,000 people for 284 years, and in recent decades, Liechtenstein has been transformed into a fabulously wealthy tax haven. Today there are more companies registered in Liechtenstein than there are citizens. To make its democratic government perform more efficiently, the prince had insisted, he needed the power to dismiss incompetent elected officials and kill bad laws. The national referendum was bitterly contested; the prince called opponents ingrates and traitors, and vowed to take the royal family into exile if he lost. He won, with 64 percent of the vote. “It’s a very, very pleasing result,” the prince said.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
AI is creating a luxury housing renaissance in San Francisco
Under the Radar Luxury homes in the city can range from $7 million to above $20 million
-
How carbon credits could help and hurt the climate
The explainer The credits could be allowing polluters to continue polluting
-
5 tips for building a healthy skincare routine for tweens and teens
The Week Recommends Social media is pushing overly elaborate routines for young skin