Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Those Multicultural European Royals

King Carl Gustaf of Sweden gave his annual Christmas address to the nation yesterday. Our Swedish correspondent LN did not have a high opinion of the speech, and has translated some excerpts from it to illustrate its PC Multicultural flavor:

King Carl GustafThere must be a way to live side by side in mutual esteem for our differences. This vision we should try to keep alive.

[…]

That is what it looks like in Sweden today and in many places of this globalized world. It is one new Sweden. Young people with roots in other cultures put Sweden on the map in musical styles, in the field of sports, with business ideas that were not there when I was younger. Through all the centuries Sweden has been developed through immigration. The Walloons, who in the 1600s built up many of our iron mills and thereby laid down our early industry, are an example. Another is the inflow of artistic talents from above all France in the 1700s.

[…]

To welcome changes and to let the mixture of cultures and experiences enrich our lives and our social community is our only road ahead.

Zonka read the same speech and gave a Danish opinion on it (via email):
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If you read the speech, it is kind of pathetic. The Swedish king was never a genius with words, and this is a series of PC platitudes, one after another, without any bite or without having a real opinion on anything.

Most of all it sounds like a speech made by a person who is so isolated from daily life, a person who only hears what his bureaucrats tells him, to the extent that he reminds me of Marie Antoinette when she uttered the words “let them eat cake”, unlinked from reality.

And, yes, the speech is very much in the Multicultural vein. It talks about how we can learn so much from these immigrants, like we did from the Walloons in the 1600s and others throughout time. And that he met some enthusiastic youth, when he visited some of the places where there have been trouble, and that these youngsters were ready to take responsibility for themselves and others in sports clubs etc. And that he now wants to build a fund to help such initiatives.

And then he goes into the Climate Change debate, and how Sweden has a responsibility to lead the way out of this man-made mess, yadda, yadda, yadda….

This should be a warning about how some people who are living completely isolated from reality and only get their news through the media or filtered through bureaucrats who have been trained to perfection in the art of PC. In all other respects this speech is a waste of time and effort; it’s a masterpiece of saying nothing in a lot of words.

In a parallel development, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands also gave a PC Multicultural Christmas speech. H. Numan, our expatriate Dutch correspondent, sends this report:

Queen BeatrixQueen Beatrix gave her annual Christmas sermon. It wasn’t well received.

She spoke about the usual: let’s integrate, let’s work on understanding one another. She said in a barely-veiled way that politicians such as Geert Wilders aren’t good for society.

Also, it sounds somewhat hypocritical ranting about people’s egoism, if one earns tax-free 8 million euros per year, with free housing, free board and a free transportation.

The Dutch papers and blogs are full of comments from not-so-happy Dutch people about this speech. Not one or two, but literally hundreds of very appropriate remarks.

What most people objected to is the singularity of the queen’s speech. “we” should be translated into “them”, them being the Mohammedans who simply refuse to integrate.

A further juicy detail:

Wilders (the barely veiled victim) announced that he will ask questions in parliament, and if necessary propose a change to the constitution, in which the queen will be relegated to purely ceremonial duties.

He holds the opinion that the queen should not give political speeches. As the queen is above the law, she cannot be held responsible, but since the prime minister (who is responsible) didn’t make this speech, he cannot be held responsible either.

Since King Carl Gustaf and Queen Beatrix gave such similar speeches, there’s only one possible explanation: both subscribe to the Royal European Speech ServiceTM, “catering exclusively to the monarchs of Europe since 1949”.

It’s now an online service, and can supply a major speech for any occasion. Just get your major domo to download it for you in the native language of your country’s peasantry.

OK, I admit it: I made all this up. Still, it might be true.

And I can tell you one other thing: Queen Margrethe does not subscribe to this service.

12 comments:

Doug said...

London, capital of the world (Paris Third)
To some, there is no downside to Multiculturalism, even as the Muslim Demographic grows on.
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A new study has found that the British capital outstrips 60 global rivals as an economic and cultural powerhouse.

The measurable and objective data, which can all be found on The Independent's website at www.independent.co.uk/capitals , throws up some remarkable findings and reveals which urban rivals come out on top, which cities look set to climb rapidly up the rankings and which metropolises are seeing their grandeur and magnificence surpassed.

The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, said the research showed London's strength lay in its multicultural makeup: "London is establishing itself as the world's number one financial centre and greatest city in the world. Londoners are proud of our 'unity in diversity' and regard the multiculturalism of our city as one of its greatest strengths. With over 300 languages spoken here, London is literally the most international city in the world. Its financial sector, its creative industries and its tourism industry all rely, in different ways, on their relations with the rest of the world and, with the achievements of winning the Olympic Games and hosting major sporting events like the Tour de France, we have proved the success of becoming the city that embraces globalisation."
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I'd say the London-Pakistan Corridor should garner a few demerits.

Anonymous said...

I apologize in advance to Swedish readers, but the King looks like an ostrich in this pic.

Zenster said...

There must be a way to live side by side in mutual esteem for our differences.

Only with people who hold a similar "mutual esteem for our differences". Attempting to do so with those who adamantly refuse to is not just a fool's errand but—in the case of Islam—totally suicidal. Not that such blandishments aren't rather easy to pronounce when safely ensconced in a castle with 24 hour bodyguards to help protect you whilst figuring out what part of some $7.6 MILLION DOLLARS per year to spend on your collection of six-figure sports cars.

X said...

Our queen gave a right cracker this year.

X said...

Hm, sorry, ignore that link, it was teh wrong one, all edited down. This one is much better.

Anonymous said...

European monarchs are merely hostages of their governments, talking heads expressing the opinions of the establishment committed to multiculturalism. These marionettes make me feel sorry for them. They have suffered 200 years of humiliation already, and it will probably get worse still...

Anonymous said...

I could not help but notice the King's medals. For a moment I was puzzled, but shortly snapped out of it when I realized my error. Medals instinctively have me thinking in terms of military history, courage, and valor, but in this context I should have been thinking 'Cub Scouts'.

Ed Mahmoud said...

OT

Benazir Bhutto killed in suicide attack

Ed Mahmoud said...

Chalons said...
I could not help but notice the King's medals. For a moment I was puzzled, but shortly snapped out of it when I realized my error. Medals instinctively have me thinking in terms of military history, courage, and valor, but in this context I should have been thinking 'Cub Scouts'.




Of course, a fair number of people would have to die for him to become monarch, but Prince Andrew actually flew a helicopter in a combat zone in the Falklands.

Bert said...

Very interesting article!

Adding to Laura Olavi's comment: Maybe the royalty was trying to show loyalty and usufulness to their new master, the EU president and the prime ministers?

The kings and queens are pushing themselves quite into pro-EU politics lately: Beatrix refused to sign a referendum request on the EU "constitution", Albert [Belgium] extended the secession of Flanders by quickly pushing the ever power-hungry Verhofstadt on stage [Blair ever called Verhofstadt a crackpot federalist]. This sudden Belgium interim government coincidentally was also just in time to sign the EU Lissabon treaty.

Is it therefore maybe the European Union Royal Speech Service Department?

X said...

I'm still holding out an increasingly distant hope that the Queen will refuse to assent to the act that places Lisbon on the books...

Anonymous said...

Yessir, God save the Queen (my Queen, that is).