Which country is likely to become a monarchy (again), and why?

[COUNTESS]

If some nation wants to restore a monarch and the people agree. Have at it. In, today's world it is anachronistic, but so many nations emerging from difficult pasts might view this as fine. They have had hard time having any functioning government, so who knows. It is still a double expense, unless you have an absolute monarch.

[Ruhije]

Again, and i know its getting repetitive, this Republican argument about the cost of two leaderships with Monarchies is challenged and argued by us Monarchists as many or most Republics have the two-tier dual costs of their various Presidents, Premiers, Chancellors, and Prime Ministers, plus associated departments of protocol and diplomacy instead of Monarchy!
And again, for Monarchists it is far from simply an argument about costs and budgets.
Monarchists believe in the many other cases and issues for Monarchy, about traditions, history and heritage, National identity and sovereignty, society and continuity.
The many returned and restituted former exiled Royals and Monarchies make this case very recently, and ongoing.

[Ruhije]

Another recent and interesting case of returned and restituted former Monarchies are the various Sultanates in Indonesia.
Some of these are - The Sultanates of Achin, Palembang, Siak, Singosari, Demak, Bantam, Mataram, Jogjakarta, Surakarta - in Sumatra & Java, and other Islands of Indonesia.
Many of these returned Sultans are being widely welcomed back with popular and official support, with positions and roles of status, Government acknowledgment and restitution.

An excellent magazine article on some of these returned Sultans, and well worth reading for those of us interested in and in support of restitution and restoration (and those who are against it too!) of former Monarchies, is -

Return of the sultans - Inside Indonesia - a quarterly magazine on Indonesia and its people, culture, politics, economy and environment

[COUNTESS]

It won't work the second time around. The days of grandeur are gone.

[Ruhije]

Originally Posted by COUNTESS

It won't work the second time around. The days of grandeur are gone.

Many former Monarchs and Royals have returned to their nations in recent decades, by popular appeal and official restitution, without expecting, wanting, or receiving, anything like the lifestyles or costs of those former "Days of Grandeur"!
Not always full restoration, but very often welcome restitution.

[James VI]

Originally Posted by COUNTESS

It won't work the second time around. The days of grandeur are gone.

The days of Grandeur most certainly are over, one only has to look at the present position of the Greek Republic, to understand that.

[COUNTESS]

To re-establish a monarchy is tp say we cannot form a functioning government. You are right James VI.

[James VI]

Originally Posted by COUNTESS

To re-establish a monarchy is tp say we cannot form a functioning government. You are right James VI.

Sorry Countess, the Grandiosity that i was refering to is that of the republics which replaced the Monarchies of Greece, Romania, Serbia etc. These republics claimed to be more egalitarian and democratic, yet their legacies are quite the opposite. The claim that a President can do better than a constitutional Monarch is one piece of grandiosity which has been well and truly scorched, in the Balkans at least

[imojeen]

serbia, maybe

[latinist]

One of the "arguments" presented by the republicans...or simply anti-monarchists, is that "if a president is not suitable, not desirable for his job, we change him in the elections after 4-5 years, but if we have a monarch and he/she's not suitable for this, what do we do, we are stuck with him for good!"
I wanted to ask those of you who live in a monarchy, or who know these things, constitutional issues, what happens if the monarch doesn't follow the constitution and has an abnormal behaviour for his role?
In my country for example, the president is suspended by the Parliament and then sent to the people's choice in a referendum to be dismissed.
I cannot imagine that in a monarchy things would stand different.

[Ruhije]

Originally Posted by Tastyca

I'm new here , nice thread!

One of my favourite threads in the General Discussions section too.

[vonLichtenberg]

I would really like to see someone like King Michael of Romania restored, the Romanian people are fond of him and his daughter, the sad thing is not many like the fact he changed the succession rules to allow Princess Margarita to ascend the headship of the house upon Michael's death.

As much as I would like to see a Hohenzollern on the German Imperial throne again, I think Germany is too disorganized to bring back the royals in a official role.

I think if Maria of Russia had the support of the whole Romanov clan she could get enough support in Russia for some sort of semi-official role. Maybe her son George Mikhailovich can muster some support after she is gone?

[Tsar bobo Iv]

i hope Hawaii that would be wonderful but i don't know if any of their family members r still alive

[NGalitzine]

I cannot seriouly imagine Hawaii seceding from the union in order to establish a monarchy. Hawaiians are a minority in their own state so are unlikley to carry a majority vote. There are numerous remaining members of branches of the former ruling family around, some have been active in public life and are quite wealthy.

[CSENYC]

I'd think that all of the events in the UK (Jubilee, Royal Wedding, etc.) would be a great advertisement for monarchy, showing people that it's a good thing in many ways.

[RoyalistRiley]

Originally Posted by COUNTESS

It won't work the second time around. The days of grandeur are gone.

It's not just about the grandeur - it's about the increased political stability and the increased feeling of national pride and togetherness that comes from monarchies. In the recent BBC documentary on Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee, the presenter said something along the lines of "The State needs to be something that everyone can believe in even when you disagree with the government" and no other system does this apart from monarchy. There are many states in Europe that used to be monarchies that could really do with having a steady, impartial figure who personifies the nation at the top during times of crisis - Greece in particular. You also only need to look at how the UN's Human Development Index is dominated by constitutional monarchies - Canada, Australia, New Zealand, UK, Netherlands, Norway, Luxembourg, Denmark, Sweden, Liechtenstein, Spain, Belgium - to see the benefits that this system provides.

And re-establishing a monarchy does not imply a failure at forming a functioning government, it is simply a much needed and beneficial improvement to a system that may or may not already be flawed.

[BeatrixFan]

In my view, it's not just a case of monarchy vs republic. Some countries have very strong cultural leanings towards a certain system of governance. China is a prime example - it depends on an autocratic regime whether communist or absolute monarchy. Russia has always been led by one person and hasn't done badly. That's because I think some countries just lean towards dictatorship (maybe because of their size too) whereas others prefer a series of leaders, others work better with a traditional hereditary head of state. It's very individual.

[RoyalistRiley]

Originally Posted by BeatrixFan

In my view, it's not just a case of monarchy vs republic. Some countries have very strong cultural leanings towards a certain system of governance. China is a prime example - it depends on an autocratic regime whether communist or absolute monarchy. Russia has always been led by one person and hasn't done badly. That's because I think some countries just lean towards dictatorship (maybe because of their size too) whereas others prefer a series of leaders, others work better with a traditional hereditary head of state. It's very individual.

But surely one could also argue that although a country naturally gravitates towards a certain form of government that does not mean it provides the best result for that country. Germany until WWII is an example - it had traditionally been ruled by someone with (virtually) absolute power and the failure of the Weimar republic in adequately filling the power vacuum that existed after the First World War meant that Hitler was widely supported for several years as he amassed total control of Germany, which ultimately led to disaster. If Germany was not defeated unconditionally and occupied by the Allies I doubt a republic in the true sense of the word would have eventuated and allowed the economic miracles of the second half of the 20th century to occur.

[An Ard Ri]

Originally Posted by imojeen

serbia, maybe

Serbia is interesting,not sure if anything will happen but I'm keeping an open mind with regard to Serbia.

[Artemisia]

Originally Posted by An Ard Ri

Serbia is interesting,not sure if anything will happen but I'm keeping an open mind with regard to Serbia.

Me too.
Most major political parties and the Church support Crown Prince Alexander, the Serbian royals are now very integrated with the daily life of the country; it would take only a small push for the Monarchy to be reinstated. The problem is, the country faces far more prevailing issues right now to actually think of restoration.