Future of Monaco gets tongues wagging

By Mort Rosenblum
The Associated Press

LIONEL CIRONNEAU / AP Prince Rainier of Monaco, far right, with his son, Prince Albert, and daughter Princess Stephanie, is credited with transforming Monaco.

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Such talk, heresy to most Monegasques, is uttered only in hushed tones, and no crisis is necessarily imminent.

The line of succession, on which Monaco's independence hangs, is assured through Albert, Rainier's 46-year-old bachelor son. And if his shy, retiring nature drives him to abdicate, sisters Caroline or Stephanie can step in.

But the world is changing fast around Monaco, gambling mecca and playground for the rich. Its French neighbors now belong to a 25-nation European Union bent on eradicating old anomalies and harmonizing its tax laws to undercut fiscal havens like Monaco.

To survive, the tiny principality will likely need a tough-minded ruler.

For many close to the inner circle, such as Nadia Lacoste, Albert is plainly up to the job. Lacoste was palace spokeswoman in the heady days of Princess Grace, the actress Grace Kelly, who married Rainier in 1956 and was killed in a car crash on a hairpin bend in 1982.

"Albert will be a wonderful prince," Lacoste said. "On his own, he'll show a dynamic personality and effective leadership."

Albert himself outlined his dilemma in a rare interview with the Paris daily Le Monde: "If I say something against my father, people think I'm impatient to replace him. If I say nothing, I'm seen as an imbecile."

Still, other insiders expect Albert to withdraw from public life. None agree to be quoted by name, fearing regal wrath. Despite its velvet trimmings and elected legislature, they say, Monaco is run by fiat, as it has been for nine centuries.

In Paris, authorities refuse comment on such a touchy issue as the status of Monaco. If assured of anonymity, however, some wonder aloud how much longer the principality can survive intact.

European Union officials are equally tightlipped about the fate of Monaco and other quirks of European history and geography such as San Marino in Italy, the Channel islands between England and France, and Andorra in the Pyrenees. But in private conversations, Monaco's future is a question.

Although no bigger than Central Park in New York, Monaco has all the trappings of an independent state — a seat at the United Nations, a passport and postage stamps, and a Legislative Council that drafts bills for the prince to sign.

But the French shadow is everywhere. Monaco's language is French, the currency was French francs and is now the euro, and visitors can breeze down the Riviera highway and into the principality without even realizing it.

The prince chooses his prime minister from among three French officials selected in Paris.

In 1962, President Charles de Gaulle resolved an economic dispute with a bald show of force. Rainier backed down in a face-saving compromise, but no one missed the broader message: Monaco exists at France's pleasure.

In 2000, three French auditors declared that Monaco was too lenient on money launderers. Now, quietly but increasingly, people speculate that a future French government will be tempted to exert sovereignty in the absence of a strong leader.

Whatever happens, Rainier's shoes will be hard to fill, partly because the royal mystique is wearing thin for many.

Caroline's third husband, Prince Ernst August of Hanover, has been in trouble for punching out a German photographer and a hotel owner. Caroline runs her mother's charities while waging a long court battle to keep journalists from prying. Stephanie, with two children born out of wedlock, periodically scandalizes Monaco. She divorced her husband of 18 months when he was pictured with a Belgian stripper, then married a circus acrobat.

On the back streets, some Monegasques are downright rude about the ruling family, which they blame for high prices and a wasteful lifestyle. But others see a different picture.

Lucie Rinaldi, a ship chandler in the old port for 40 years, shrugged when asked what she thought about the future.

"We don't know much about what happens up on the rock," she said, "but we know what the prince has done for Monaco. We will miss him and, whatever happens next, the place won't be the same."

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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