International journalist Dan Perry asks whether Britain’s monarchy can survive after the death of the almost universally admired Queen Elizabeth II and comes up with some surprising answers.
He thinks that King Charles III may benefit from a moment when democracies are not quite as shiny as once was the case.
Here are some excerpts from a recent interview:
„The monarchy in Britain has a remarkable deal of actual theoretical power,” the former Associated Press Mideast, Europe and Africa Editor said. „The monarch can disband Parliament, the monarch can declare war, but not a lot of people know this,” he told i24 news Israel.
Under the monarchy we had „a free market economy. People liked the monarchy under the queen. That is the only version of the monarchy they knew.”
The monarchy „became a net positive in terms of a business and a tourist attraction. Will Charles be able to perpetuate that?”
„Charles clearly has an itch to be a political player. It is remarkable the degree to which Elizabeth resisted that urge.”
„The monarchy has its traditions, but it is indefensible. It is what you make of it. Charles benefits from the soft bigotry of low expectations. People didn’t think much if him, but he is a bit of an intellect; he is a person with ambition and he comes to the throne when there is a bit of a crisis of legitimacy for global democracy. ”
„Democracies all over the world are yielding strange and dangerous results. I think there is some nostalgia for something constant that maybe Charles can tap into.”
