unaS

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Suddenly and shockingly, Belgium came to an end. State television broke into regular programming late Wednesday with an urgent bulletin: The Dutch-speaking half of the country had declared independence and the king and queen had fled. Grainy pictures from the military airport showed dark silhouettes of a royal entourage boarding a plane.

Read all about it: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061214/...ependence_hoax

starrsville

That wasn't!

War of the Worlds 2

ira

Thanks, Una.

>"Never in my long political life have I seen such worry. Anguish came from around the world," he said.<

However, most of us (if we heard about it) just yawned.

LiHardcastle

What a riot!

Li

PalenqueBob

The fact that it was so widely believed should give Brussels government pause for concern!

When i read the title i thought finally another European country had tossed their stupid royal family on the scrapheap of history. (I don't know if King is stupid or a genius - it's just stupid to have a monarch in this day and age IMO.

ira

>..it's just stupid to have a monarch in this day and age...<

What difference does it make if the Head of State of a constitutional, parliamentary democracy is called monarch or president?

I submit, that in most cases a long-term Head of State, as in the UK, is far more useful than someone who is elected every few years.

PalenqueBob

<I submit, that in most cases a long-term Head of State, as in the UK, is far more useful than someone who is elected every few years>

wow, i'd like to see the fuzzy thinking that can support this - too many pecans falling on your head i think. the Head of State in UK is a farce - figure head only and not needed for any useful purpose and is very un-democratic.

If the Head of State like QEII had any real power - i know she could in some rare scenarios and that's what scares me - then that Head of State should be democratically elected and not assume the position from some archaic method such as royal succession.

I'm happy the US does not have a King or Queen.

willit

"Strange women, lying in ponds, distributing swords, is no basis for a system of government".

PatrickLondon

("Strange women, lying in ponds, distributing swords, is no basis for a system of government".)i

True, but where is this amazing country?

Constitutional monarchy isn't actually a system of <i>government</i>. That's the point. In a constitutional monarchy, the head of state doesn't actually do the messy and controversial business of governing: they're there to do the symbolics, ceremonials and diplomatic schmoozing relating to all of the state. It makes it a lot easier to spot when a government is seeking to hide from criticism by wrapping itself in the flag and identifying itself with the long-term interest of the state. Call it another form of separation of powers.

Whereas the United States chose to give its President more or less the position of a late eighteenth-century monarch, albeit dependent on election.

Our sort of constitutional monarchy continued to evolve, to the point where we have, in effect, a crowned republic. You have an elected monarchy.

MissPrism

I heard an interview with the King of Norway and he said that most of the world's most stable democracies are constitutional monarchies.
He admitted that possibly it is only stable democracies that can tolerate monarchies.

Trophywife007

&quot;Elected monarchy&quot; Not!

An elected republic or a democratic republic.

unaS

Oh dear. I posted this for a giggle. Didn't expect it to develop into a political (or literary) discussion...

Just for interests sake then, where do countries like Israel that have an elected, symbolic head of state fit in? The President is more like a constiturional monarch, if an elected one, while the PM is the real ruler of the country - and s/he is not elected but appointed by his/her party! :-?

waring

I believe George Washington was offered the Crown of the USA.

Also ironic that the American Revolution (Or British Civil War)was won by the French, the least democratic and most absolute monarchy in Europe at the time.

Anyway, with regard to monarchies in general, if it ain't bust, don't fix it.

I think Lizzie does a stand up job, which is fundamentally doing nothing.

In any case, casting no aspersions, if you are going to have a muppet as head of State, elected or otherwise, make sure they are powerless.

PalenqueBob

Waring: If a pence of my tax money was going to support dolts like Charles, Prince Harry, Diana and on and on i'd say off the with 'eads'.

Can't understand why Brit taxpayers foot the bill for their shenanigans and i don't want to hear the old canard that the monarchy brings money into the country. And if that is true just pay them a salary and give them a boss to tell them what to do to promote Cool Britannia!

waring

That's the point Bob, you don't pay tax in the UK (neither do I in fact, I left so I could be nostalgic).

So, neither of us having the right to really comment on the issue, I think it is worth a few quid, quite simply not to have a President. Chirac, Reagan, Bush, I rest my case.

Off with their 'eads? I think I am paraphrasing Lenin

&quot;I won't be happy until the last king has been hanged with the guts of the last priest&quot;

PalenqueBob

&lt;I think it is worth a few quid, quite simply not to have a President. Chirac, Reagan, Bush, I rest my case&gt;

Good point....but how is Tony Blair, at least in his heyday, unlike Presidents Reagan, Bush, Chirac - i think he's had the same power as these do only his term is not fixed, however he can set the dates for his re-election (i know not direct, Parliamentary system, etc) whereas Presidents must run at set time and with W's ratings he wouldn't have a chance. The Iron Lady - wielded power as much as any president i feel.

Interesting arguments and i really don't know which system is better - it's kind of nice seeing the Queen's mug on coins and stamps when i go to Canada or UK.

waring

Again, an important distinction. It is the party that is elected, not the individual, who is elected by the party.

Thatcher (the milk snatcher) was booted out without any election by the public, and Major was put in place, again without an election.