Liechtenstein backs its prince

Published on 02/07/2012 00:00

Voters in Liechtenstein have soundly rejected a call to take away the ruling prince’s power to veto referendum results.

Government figures showed that 76.1 per cent of voters, or 11,629 people, rejected the initiative titled “Yes – So that your vote counts” in a referendum yesterday.

Hereditary Prince Alois threatened to use his veto in September to block a plan to legalise abortion, but a majority voted against the change. The royal family could have vetoed having its power of veto voted down.

That would have made Alois the first prince to use his veto since his grandfather.