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That was almost five years ago, and Charles is still waiting. Pro-Leopoldists have accused him again & again of usurping his brother's power. Charles has answered by going into virtual seclusion. Such tasks of royalty as the laying of cornerstones have fallen into the hands of Queen Mother Elisabeth, now 72, an eccentric patron of Communist art exhibits.
Hill of the Highnesses. Leopold and Mary Liliane are waiting, too. Four years ago, after a nonstop drive from Austria, they arrived at Le Reposoir, a greystone mansion near Geneva, Switzerland. (The upkeep is $7,500 a year rent, plus wages for six servants, two secretaries.) They dream of a return to Brussels, and Le Reposoir lends itself to such dreams. Built in the 18th Century, it is nicknamed le coteau des altesses—the hill of the highnesses. Among others who have lived there and dreamed of lost diadems were Louis Bonaparte's Queen Hortense and Napoleon's Empress Josephine.
Leopold's household includes the three children of Astrid—Princess Josephine-Charlotte, 21, Crown Prince Baudouin, 18, Prince Albert, 15—and Mary Liliane's son, Alexandre, 7. It is an affectionate family circle. To the stepchildren, Mary Liliane is a gay, smiling maman.
Leopold generally gets up before 8, takes a short walk around the estate, or a quick dip in the lake. Then he reads his mail, confers with his secretaries. His meals are moderate; he takes little meat, likes vegetables and fruit, drinks mineral water or fruit juices.
Delegations from Belgium drop in to see him quite often. Word reached Brussels last week that the King was telling callers he now felt dubious about a plebiscite on his return. It might divide his people, politically and geographically, by deepening the division between Flemings (who tend to support the King) and Walloons (who distrust his alleged pro-Flemish sympathies). Leopold, said one report, favored a solution that would allow him to return to Brussels with honor vindicated and constitution upheld, then abdicate in favor of his son Baudouin.
Sounding the Parties. At home in Belgium, the Catholics' sharp Paul van Zeeland, as Premier-designate after the recent election, sounded out the other parties for a coalition whose foremost task would be to hold a plebiscite on the royal question. The Socialists, led by able Paul-Henri Spaak, rejected Van Zeeland's proposals, ordered their powerful trade unions to prepare for a general strike. Led by Roger Motz, the Liberals also rejected the Catholic proposal. The Communists and their bosses such as Edgard Lalmand were not consulted. They have been steadily fading as a factor in Belgian politics, and nobody consults them these days.
Stopped cold, Van Zeeland stepped out. Regent Charles next asked a less ardent Leopoldist Catholic, Frans van Cauwelaert, to sound out the parties. This time the Socialists cautiously thought they might accept if certain stiff conditions were met: 1) a public statement of charges against the King and his defense; 2) requirement of a 70-75% majority in the plebiscite before the King could return; 3) if the King fails of this majority, he must abdicate.