Which country do you think COULD be next to abolish their monarchy?

[Patra]

I'm thinking maybe Jordan, Although I would hate to see that happen...

[James VI]

Originally Posted by Patra

I'm thinking maybe Jordan, Although I would hate to see that happen...

I think King Abdullah`s position is pretty rock solid, Patra. The Hashemite monarchy is a fairly unique form of semi-absolutism which in practice, works extremely well. Certainly there are questions over Jordan`s human rights record, but in comparison to it`s neighbours in Syria and Iran, Jordan under the Hashemites, is an oasis of stability and order.

[royalistbert]

Sweden seems to most likely at the moment. I heard that one of the main parties is republican.

[elladora]

Sweden seems to most likely at the moment. I heard that one of the main parties is republican.

Probably not. There will always be groups in society who are against a royal house but to abolish a royal house can happen only if something extremely drastic happened ( like someone taking over the power) or if there is for quite along time unrest and displeasure in a country over the royal family. ( At least in my opinion) And so far I know that isn't the case in Sweden

[Ruhije]

Exactly, i agree Elladora, as i'd already posted and explained my reasons for this too in an earlier post on Sweden in this thread a few days ago.
The political parties that would want a referendum on the Monarchy in Sweden are all on the left-wing of politics (ok, no surprise there), but an opinion poll showed no strong public feeling for a referendum or is there any strong anti-Monarchy sentiment among the majority of Swedes.
For a Monarchy to be seriously considored a candidate for possibly being abolished, there has to be at least majority political and public opinion and demand for this, or some kind of extraordinary Monarcho-political crisis.
These circumstances just do not exist and are not there in the majority of Monarchies mentioned again and again in this thread - Sweden, Belgium, Spain, Norway, Netherlands, or even Jordan.
I dont understand the reasoning for any of these suggested.

[royalistbert]

You are correct about it being the mostly the left wing parties. I just think its a possibility in the future that Sweden could have a referendum. I not saying Sweden will abolish its monarchy!

[CSENYC]

Originally Posted by royalistbert

You are correct about it being the mostly the left wing parties. I just think its a possibility in the future that Sweden could have a referendum. I not saying Sweden will abolish its monarchy!

Agreed. The King of Sweden needs to step down; he's done too many bad things that are inconsistent with being a king, and especially of one of the world's oldest monarchies. Once his successor is crowned, hopefully the monarchy can recover its popularity.

(I'm a Swedish-American, and so I am particularly concerned about Sweden.)

[Artemisia]

Originally Posted by CSENYC

Agreed. The King of Sweden needs to step down; he's done too many bad things that are inconsistent with being a king, and especially of one of the world's oldest monarchies. Once his successor is crowned, hopefully the monarchy can recover its popularity.

What bad things? There may have been some mistakes but I'm not aware of any truly "bad" things King Carl Gustav has done. Could you give examples?

[Lumutqueen]

Originally Posted by Artemisia

What bad things? There may have been some mistakes but I'm not aware of any truly "bad" things King Carl Gustav has done. Could you give examples?

Give this thread a read, King Carl Gustaf Controversy; 2010-2011

[An Ard Ri]

Originally Posted by CSENYC

Agreed. The King of Sweden needs to step down; he's done too many bad things that are inconsistent with being a king, and especially of one of the world's oldest monarchies. Once his successor is crowned, hopefully the monarchy can recover its popularity.

(I'm a Swedish-American, and so I am particularly concerned about Sweden.)

Swedish Monarchs are no longer crowned,the last Swedish Monarch to do so was Oscar II in 1873.

[Artemisia]

Originally Posted by Lumutqueen

Give this thread a read, King Carl Gustaf Controversy; 2010-2011

Ah, I see now. Thanks for directing to the thread.
Still, the presumption of innocence should apply to royals as well; as far as I am concerned, the King is innocent until proven guilty.

[tommy100]

I voted Spain simply because I think (based on what I've read/heard etc) that many Spanish people love Juan Carlos for all he has done for the country but this does not necessarily translate into support for the monarchy as a whole. Furthermore I think that as Spain had relatively recent time without a monarch in place it does not perhaps have the same attachment to monarchy as other countries might. Furthermore the Spanish monarchy is going through a tough time at the moment in regard to the controversy surrounding Infanta Cristina's husband.
Belgium would also not surprise me but only because of the constant danger of the country being broken up, if that were to happen i think the monarchy could go or may stay in place as a monarchy for the newly formed states.

[Artemisia]

The poll results do somewhat surprise me. While I would agree with Spain and Belgium among the most likely candidates (much for the same reasons tommy100 stated in this post), I cannot say the same about Norway and Britain - the other countries with most votes.

Monarchy in Norway appears to be quite safe; the King and Queen are well loved and respected, as is the Crown Princely couple.
As far as Britain is concerned, I actually think it is the single safest Monarchy in the world, apart from maybe the Japanese one. Granted, there have been a lot of controversies and there are constant complains about the "cost" of the royal family; however, even during the most troubling times, the republican cause never gained momentum. In Britain, the old saying the Monarch and the land are one is still very much true. I can imagine most other countries as republics, but not Britain.

[nascarlucy]

No European country anytime soon will become a republic. You still will have royalty but what function they will serve will depend on a lot of things. Royalty in general in 50 to 100 years will be much different than it is now.

[An Ard Ri]

Spain on 28.66%

[Mirabel]

I also wavered between Spain and Belgium.
It seems as if the Spanish monarchy is always being removed and then later restored.
And the activities of the monarchy in Belgium have lately been quite controversial.

I would not be surprised to see either become a republic in the near future.

[Artemisia]

Originally Posted by An Ard Ri

Spain on 28.66%

I confess voting for Spain as well; what with the scandals and unfortunate events associated with the family lately, it is no longer unlikely Spain will opt to become a republic at some point. Crown Prince Felipe is respected but doesn't have the same regard as his father, and Infanta Leonor is way too young to put into equation. All in all, the next decade will be decisive for the future of Spanish Monarchy.

[rop81]

Imo the biggest problem in Sweden is the media wich is totally dominated by republican journalists that use every chance they get to send a signal to the Swedish people that the monarchy has lived well past it time and that we (sweden) isn´t a democratic country until we have established a republic. There where an outcry from journalists about the mediacoveridge of the royal wedding 2010 that there was way to little critical reports - something they have taken care off ever since with all the negative stories about the king and his family - the only exception from the rule is the much loved Crownprincess Victoria who (even though i guess they have tried very hard) they have never found any dirt on, even the republicans like her (that´s the good thing for the future). Another part of the "potential problem" is the Swedish fondness for beeing modern - everything should be new and modern in our society and that could prove to be a disadvantage to the monarchy, there´s a reason why many companies try out new things on swedes - who are very eager to be up to date...

Hopefully i never see the day when Sweden becomes a republic, but i wouldn´t be to surpriced if there is a refurendum in a decade or so...
One of the best things for the monarchy imo could unfortunatly (for the king) be the accession of Queen Victoria - that i think would kill much of the debate since she is almost universilly loved and admired.

Only my small thoughts...

[Ruhije]

I agree in general re Swedish situation, but think either the current reign will continue and pass on naturally in due time, or should a crisis or popular feeling cause an unlikely abdication or referendum, then the Monarchy will continue with the next younger generation and Crown Princess. It is the liberal left media and outside republican global opinion that fuels this debate, not general Swedish anti-monarchist feeling. I believe the Swedish Monarchy as an institution, one of the oldest in Europe, is very safe.

[Princess Peach]

As the Inaki Urgandarin case unfolds, the Spanish RF is in a very precarious position, IMO. The only saving grace is the complete lack of evidence implicating Felipe's knowledge of the events, and the respect and popularity of Felipe and Letizia.