[Notes by Gert's Royals are in Italics]
Dear People of Liechtenstein,
The last National Day was affected by crises: the end of the pandemic and the effects of the first months of the war in Ukraine. Since then, the situation in our region has eased somewhat, but the aftermath of the pandemic and the consequences of the war are still a significant burden. In addition, there are further global tensions and the challenges of both technological and demographic development. Europe is suffering as a result of an increasingly divided society and an uncertain economic situation with record high inflation, in some cases coupled with high levels of debt, recessions in important markets and ongoing problems with international supply chains.
We are doing relatively well, but we are still challenged. We should quickly overcome divisions in society by building bridges. A harsh winter could drive up energy prices again. Due to the switch to renewable energies and our high dependence on foreign countries for energy supply, we must expect higher and more volatile energy prices in the coming years. In addition, our economy is not only suffering from the worst labor shortage ever, but also recessions in important sales markets such as Germany could mean additional burdens in the coming months.
Our media landscape is also going through a difficult phase. After the closure of the Volksblatt, we have a monopoly situation with the daily newspapers, which are so important for opinion-forming in our country. In addition, Radio Liechtenstein is in financial difficulties and must therefore be restructured. Ensuring sufficient quality and variety of media has become a challenge in a digital age for a market as small as Liechtenstein.
[Liechtensteiner Volksblatt was Liechtenstein's oldest daily newspaper. It closed in March 2023, due to declining subscriptions and rising costs. Volksblatt" is German for "People's Journal" and is a common names for German language newspapers.]
Dear People of Liechtenstein,
In these continuing difficult times, we will soon have to make some fundamental decisions, in particular about the media sector, energy supply and the DpL's constitutional initiative to involve the people in the government's work. In order to find the right balance between development & continuity and stability , we have to find the right answers to the following questions:
- Given the changing conditions, where should we take bold steps to create better and more sustainable structures for the future?
- Where should the government be active as a provider of products or services? Where is it better to limit itself to the role of financier? or even just as regulator?
- Where should we pay attention to stability and continuity to make Liechtenstein a particularly attractive location in troubled times?
Our country's successful development over the last few decades is mainly due to the fact that we have been very successful overall in answering these questions and finding the right balance. If we make wise decisions for sustainable development in accordance with this proven recipe for success, we can create the necessary conditions to be able to successfully meet the increased demands in the future.
Dear People of Liechtenstein,
According to the recently published government proposals, the goals for the media sector is to maintain and strengthen the quality of the media, media diversity, pluralism of opinion and the free formation of opinion in Liechtenstein. The planned expansion of the digital area of radio and the proposed amendments to the Media Promotion Act and the Media Act should basically correspond to this objective in terms of their thrust. In order to find the best and most sustainable structures in the media sector, we should think further about other options when discussing the government proposals and have the courage to ask ourselves the following questions:
- What tasks should the Government perform in the media sector?
- Is it enough that Government regulates and finances private media?
- If so, is the increase in media funding proposed by the government sufficient to achieve its goals, or should funding for private media be increased even more, particularly with regard to the basic contribution and start-up financing?
- How can state funds for start-up financing of private media be used most effectively?
- Does our government also have to offer media content with its own company in order to maintain and strengthen media diversity, pluralism of opinion and free opinion-forming in Liechtenstein?
- If so, is radio the right medium for this, or would a completely new, digital media company be more suitable and perhaps also more cost-effective?
- If the latter, can Radio Liechtenstein be transformed into such a digital media company or does it also require a completely new approach?
In view of the small size of the Liechtenstein media market, it is certainly necessary for our government to act not only as a regulator, but also as a financier of the private media. If we carefully examine the questions just mentioned, we could also make the right decisions about how our state should best finance the private media, whether it should also offer media content with its own company and – if so – what the most suitable way is.
Dear People of Liechtenstein,
In the energy sector, given the changing conditions, we should also take bold steps to create better and more sustainable structures for the future. A stable energy supply at stable prices has long been a task of our government because of its critical role in modern society. In many areas of energy supply it will be sufficient for government to only act as a regulator. Depending on the energy sector and the technological development phase, however, it can make sense for the state to offer products or services with its own companies or to use state funds to help as a financier with special payments in emergencies or to initiate politically desired developments with subsidies. However, the use of state funds for such purposes should be as targeted as possible, cautious and only as long as it is useful. Otherwise we run the risk of creating a state-controlled planned economy, which on the one hand costs the taxpayer a lot and on the other hand nips better initiatives from the private sector in the bud.
In a market situation with bottlenecks on the electricity market and volatile electricity prices expected in the next few years, a high level of self-sufficiency would be advantageous. Today, we only produce a quarter of the energy Liechtenstein needs. We should collect all suggestions for increasing self-sufficiency and consider how close to implementation, interdependencies, cost-benefit ratio, etc. each idea is. Similar to the successful transformation of the financial center, we should set up a project group with experts from the administration and external experts. This project group should involve all forces, create broad acceptance and develop a concrete implementation plan for an energy supply that is as sustainable as possible with the highest possible proportion of self-sufficiency. We should then bravely implement the most promising ideas.
In view of the importance of a stable digital infrastructure today, especially in the area of power supply, government support for major projects could also be justified. Perhaps we should even be as courageous as our ancestors, who invested a significant proportion of government spending in a stable power supply in order to increase the attractiveness of the location in much more difficult times. Immediately after the Second World War in 1947, almost 85% of the voters voted in favor of the construction of the Samina power plant.
Dear Liechtensteiners,
The prospective referendum on the DpL's constitutional initiative will also be a fundamental decision. Adopting the constitutional initiative would lead to a far-reaching change in our constitutional structure, because it seeks, among other things, to reorganize the relationship between the highest state organs and ultimately also between the two sovereigns [Monarch & Prime Minister]. We must not underestimate the risks from such fundamental changes to our constitutional structure.
[DpL is the Democrats for Liechtenstein political party. They have proposed a constitutional initiative to change how the Prime Minister is appointed. (The formal title of the position is "Head of Government", but they can be referred to as Prime Minister). DpL would like the public to vote on who should be their Prime Minister. Currently the Prime Minister is the chosen by the members of parliament (Landtag), and is usually the head of the party (or coalition) that has the most seats in parliament.]
Therefore, we should also ask ourselves critical questions like these in the interests of sustainable development:
- What are the effects on the political stability of our country - also with regard to the proven dualism between Prince and people, if in future not only Parliament but also the Prime Minister is elected by the people?
- What are the effects on the predictability of politics if in future the basic direction of cooperation between the Government and the Parliament is no longer determined by a coalition program at the beginning of a legislative period?
- Could the initiative proposal lead to wild Prime Minister candidatures – especially from the two major parties – and what would that mean for political stability?
- Would there be a risk of a fragmentation of the party landscape if well-known party politicians ran against the nominations of their own parties or if members of the government, contrary to the traditional limitations of their parties' terms of office, add another term of office?
Our great political stability and continuity has been an important success factor over the past few decades and what makes us a particularly attractive location, especially in turbulent times. In order not to give up this advantage, we should therefore only make adjustments to our constitutional structure if really necessary.
Dear Liechtensteiners,
Some difficult but fundamental decisions have to be made in the coming months. Let's find the right path and the right balance between bold and determined advancement on the one hand and continuity and maintaining stability on the other.
From the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank all those who were involved in organizing the state holiday, and I wish you all a Happy National Day and God bless.
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