Queen Elizabeth’s death is not of particular concern to the British. Currently, in addition to the United Kingdom, there are 14 sovereign Commonwealth states that recognize the Queen as head of state.
On November 30, 2021, Barbados, after a series of constitutional amendments supported by the Labor Party, displaced the constitutional monarchy as a form of government after four centuries of submission to British rule and became the youngest republic in the world.
However, others may follow soon…
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“When Isabel dies, all the countries where the Crown is head of state will reconsider this agreement,” says Kim Nossal, professor emeritus in the Department of Political Studies and the Center for International Policy and Defense of Nations. Canada.
Specialist, II. He acknowledges that the figure of Isabel was a key element in the weakening of different republican movements. In every constitutional monarchy of the Commonwealth, especially in Australia or Jamaica, where these impulses are strongest.
“She’s done such a good job as head of state for each kingdom over the last 70 years that she has often visited places where she’s queen, thanks to her there’s a lot of support for the monarchy,” she says.
However, the Queen’s fragility has been added to a host of scandals – Prince Andrew’s involvement in a high-profile sex trafficking and child abuse case, and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s resignation from their roles in the royal family. Accused of being racist in an explosive interview with Oprah, the American actress sparked the fire of republicanism in many countries.
But when Prince Charles, a far less popular figure than his mother, takes the throne, how likely is it that the Commonwealth kingdoms of Barbados, Malta, South Africa or India will follow in their footsteps and cut ties with the Crown?
(Also: This was Queen Elizabeth II’s last public appearance)
According to the latest survey published in April this year by the Angus Reid Institute, only 26% of Canada ousted the monarchy after World War II. He wants to keep it as a form of government beyond Elizabeth’s reign. Also, according to the results, half of Canadians say the Royal Family is no longer personally related to them.
Shachi Kurl, head of the public opinion firm, told The New York Times, “Canadians say, ‘Who is this guy on my bills?’ There may come a time when he says, “he said.
However, Nossal assures that the debate “will not enter the political agenda.” “The reason is simple: Replacing the Crown in Canada would require a constitutional amendment that would require unanimous approval from the federal government and ten provinces.
However, unanimity is nearly impossible, as a change would raise all sorts of difficult regional issues. And that is why no Canadian politician would dare to raise the question of changing the Constitution”.
“Therefore, Canada will continue to be a constitutional monarchy with King Charles as head of state (at the federal and provincial levels),” the expert predicts.
(You can read: Dukes of Sussex, their strained relationship with Queen Elizabeth)
When he came to power in 2018, II. The departure of Prime Minister Scott Morrison, an outspoken constitutional monarchist who hung a portrait of Elizabeth in his office, sparked the most daring move in decades to sever the last colonial ties with the Crown.
His successor, Anthony Albanese, at the height of the Platinum Jubilee, appointed Matt Thistlethwaite as Deputy Secretary of the Republic. The official is accused of overseeing the transition to the republic.
Peter FitzSimons, head of the Australian Republican Movement, welcomed the decision. “Power must rest in a democratically elected Australian authority, not in royal lineage from imperial days,” he told the Financial Times.
The public is in favor of change. Australians are prepared to vote for a republic with a narrow 54% majority, according to the latest poll on the subject, published in the Sydney Morning Herald on 24 January 2022.
But Republicans still have to overcome a formidable hurdle they have borne since 1999, when the constitutional amendment referendum was rejected by a large majority: the decision of which system to replace the constitutional monarchy.
Since the New Zealand Constitution is not codified, the republic can be enacted as a simple act of Parliament. This was only supposed to happen after a nationwide referendum. However, no government has yet taken significant steps in this direction.
Colmar Brunton’s most recent poll, published in November 2021, revealed that only 30% of Kiwis support transition to a republic, versus 47% who still support the monarchy. Still, this is a significant drop in support for the Crown, as the same firm’s 2012 survey revealed that 70% of New Zealanders at the time wanted to retain such a form of government.
In the Caribbean the scenario is different and the break with the Crown is more obvious. After Barbados’ decision, six countries—Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, and Saint Kitts and Nevis—introduced procedures to renounce monarchy or at least express their desire to become republics and, however, their own head of state.
Jamaica created a committee to oversee the constitutional amendment process. Belize has funded a preliminary commission, and several politicians in Grenada have demanded a referendum.
“There is something symbolically disturbing about the fact that the majority black democracy has a member of the British royal family as head of state who has colonized this land for centuries and filled it with African slaves to produce sugar and rum for metropolitan consumers,” he said. To BBC Mundo Robert Goddard, Director of Latin American and Caribbean Studies at Emory University.
Scholars agree, however, that since it is an almost purely symbolic act, it will practically not change anything for the candidate countries. “If any of the existing Commonwealth kingdoms becomes a republic in the future, it will have zero impact on foreign policy or relations with Britain. The British government realizes that the other 14 countries in the world that use the monarch do so from their colonial heritage, so there are no negative consequences to ending this arrangement. Look at Barbados: absolutely nothing happened”, Nossal assures.
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Source: Exame
