Thread: A new monarch.

Originally Posted by p38arover

It's not the British Empire and hasn't been for decades. I doubt we'd leave the Commonwealth.

We should follow South Africa's lead and become a republic but stay in the commonwealth.

Maybe we should reflect on the fact that this old lady spent over 70 years of her life doing the same old job day in and day out and her ONLY "out" was death.
Love her or Hate her she made a pretty good fist of it over her lifetime and the political sytem that we inherited from the Brits (Despite some of the tossers we have elected) seems to be working better than in many other places in the world So why would we want to change that sytem?

We are stuck with Big Ears as a Monarch, Who really cares it is what it is.

Originally Posted by JDNSW

A sense of deja vu - I remember seeing pictures in the papers of the same gates at Buckingham Palace, with crowds reading the bulletin about the king's health posted at the gates.

That makes you a part of a very tiny part of the world's population who remember someone other than Queen Elizabeth II on the throne.

As I am a few years younger than you, I was too young during her father's reign to have a clear recollection of that time.

Now you are making me feel old!

I wonder if Chuck will decide to pull the pin, pre-coronation and hand it over to the young fella?

I have a similar opinion to Trout. We have what we have. I've always been ambivalent about the monarchy, but always recognised how regal Elizabeth was in any situation. A pretty strong woman, in my opinion.

Originally Posted by JDNSW

I see little appetite for Australia to either leave the Commonwealth or to become a republic.

Now that's interesting. From my limited view I've seen a lot of grandstanding empty vessels making a lot of noise about wanting out, but perhaps it's just the media beatup.

I have / had a massive amount of respect for the Queen. I believe she discharged her duties with dignity and grace, and regardless of any personal opinion maintained steadfast impartiality. That is incredibly impressive not only as a stand-alone feat, but to maintain that for over 70 years.

I feel the world lost a beacon of diplomacy today.

Originally Posted by 1950landy

Me thinks Australia will be now looking at leaving the British Empire.

The British Empire ended some time ago ....

Originally Posted by JDNSW

I see little appetite for Australia to either leave the Commonwealth or to become a republic. While I think that it is quite possible for Australia to become a republic, it is only going to happen when the majority want it to happen, and not rapidly even then

The fundamental problem is that there's no agreement as what we are talking about when we talk about being a republic - a change to a US-style polity that fuses the role of head of state and head of the executive in a president? Or the Irish model, where we retain Westminster government but appoint the head of state ourselves? Or simply declaring that our sovereignty arises from the will of the Australian people?

The US model would be a disaster - it's far and away the most unstable system of government, whereas the Westminster model is very stable.