Prince Hans-Adam II (l.), Hereditary Prince Alois and his wife Sophie on August 15, 2024, the Liechtenstein state holiday.Image: KEYSTONE
In Liechtenstein, a pro-abortion referendum could fail due to the veto of the royal house. This shines a spotlight on the most powerful and richest monarchy in Europe.
July 22, 2026, 8:00 p.mJuly 22, 2026, 8:26 p.m
The Principality of Liechtenstein rarely makes headlines. But now a national crisis is looming in Switzerland’s small neighboring country with just over 40,000 inhabitants. Voters could soon decide on an initiative that would legalize abortion with a deadline solution based on the Swiss model.
So far, abortions have been banned in the “Ländle” with a few exceptions. Affected women have to move to Switzerland or Austria. The initiative committee wants to eliminate this grievance. The necessary 1,000 signatures were practically collected, it told the Keystone-SDA news agency on Tuesday.
In the first vote on abortion in 2011, there was only a narrow no vote despite the threat of a veto.Image: KEYSTONE
The collection period runs until the end of July, and the vote could take place as early as November. In Switzerland the case would be clear: if the electorate says yes, abortions will be permitted in the future. But in Liechtenstein the clocks tick differently. Hereditary Prince Alois, who is in charge of official business, told the “Liechtenstein fatherland” that he would veto an acceptance.
Rich, Catholic and powerful
This would allow him to override and cancel the referendum. This highlights a royal family that is very rich, very Catholic and very powerful. Most European monarchies no longer have much political influence. An exception is the Prince of Monaco, but even he does not have the power of his Liechtenstein counterpart.
Since a constitutional reform in 2003, Prince Hans-Adam II and his eldest son Alois, who has been in charge of day-to-day business since 2004, have been able to veto decisions made by the people and parliament. They can dissolve parliament and dismiss the government, and if push comes to shove, they can rule the country by emergency law.
Connected to Switzerland
These are conditions that are reminiscent of the times of absolutism and are often criticized. But so far the people have always followed the instructions from the castle high above the main town of Vaduz. The monarch has threatened to withdraw or even leave several times, and many Liechtensteiners cannot imagine a principality without a royal house.
The location of the castle high above Vaduz is symbolic of the power of the royal family.Image: keystone
Liechtenstein is connected to Switzerland in many ways. Has existed since 1924 a customs and monetary union. FC Vaduz was promoted to the Super League again in the spring. Many people in wealthy Liechtenstein also feel mentally close to Switzerland. But the royal house operates in an Austrian way.
Only in the country since 1938
The dynasty’s headquarters is not the castle in Vaduz, but Liechtenstein Castle in Lower Austria. The family resided in their stately palace in Vienna for a long time. It was only when Austria was “annexed” to Nazi Germany in 1938 that the then Prince Franz Josef II moved the family’s residence to Ländle am Rhein, where they have lived ever since.
Dependence on Switzerland was a thorn in the side of his son Hans-Adam. As early as 1970, the then 25-year-old hereditary prince declared in a speech that Liechtenstein had to get out of the “backpack of Switzerland” in terms of foreign policy. Just one year after taking office as the new regent in 1989, the principality became a member of the UN, twelve years before Switzerland.
Princely constitutional reform
And just one week after the Swiss no in December 1992, the voters in Liechtenstein said yes to EEA accession and thus to integration into the EU internal market. This decision had already brought the country to the brink of a national crisis, because Hans-Adam II had “pushed through” the vote despite concerns from the government and parliament.
During the EEA vote in 1992, the prince’s interference caused discontent. Hans-Adam needed police protection and was booed.Image: KEYSTONE
As a result, the prince and hereditary prince launched the constitutional reform, which cemented their current power. The only option given to the electorate was to abolish the monarchy by referendum. The so-called Princely Initiative was approved in 2003 with 64.3 percent yes. A counter project failed with more than 80 percent no.
Threatening to move to Vienna
These decisions were not entirely voluntary, as Hans-Adam had threatened to move to Vienna if his princely initiative was rejected. His subjects were influenced by this. The following year, as mentioned, the prince transferred the official duties to his son Alois. But he remained head of state.
Since withdrawing from day-to-day politics, the extremely business-minded Hans-Adam has focused primarily on increasing the family’s wealth. These include the private bank LGT, which is solely owned by the royal family. Observers consider the ruling family of small Liechtenstein to be the richest monarchy in Europe.
First veto threat
In contrast to his distant 81-year-old father, the 58-year-old Hereditary Prince Alois appears to be close to the people. “His Serene Highness,” is the official address, and his subjects even allow him to use first names. But with his Catholic beliefs, he doesn’t have any fun. This became apparent in 2011, when abortion was voted on for the first time.
Even then, Alois threatened to use the veto, and his subjects “obeyed”. At 52 percent, the popular initiative was narrowly rejected, and voter turnout was noticeably low. That’s why a popular initiative to abolish the right of veto was launched the following year. Once again the royal family threatened to withdraw and leave, and again the answer was no.
Tentative modernizations
There seems to be no resistance to the royal family in Liechtenstein, although they are not completely immune to modernization. There was no objection from the castle to the marriage for all that was approved by Parliament two years ago. Only the adoption of children by homosexual couples remains taboo.
Abortions abroad have been unpunished for several years, and Hereditary Prince Alois was open to lifting the current ban on information about abortions, although this seems anachronistic in today’s world. Otherwise, “the central legal interest of protecting life should continue to apply,” the Princely House states.
The electorate seems to see this differently. According to a survey by the Liechtenstein Institute, 62 percent are in favor of a deadline regulation. If it ignores the prince’s veto threat in the vote, the state crisis in tranquil Liechtenstein would be perfect. The clocks may tick differently there, but they can’t keep going forever.