Radio 4 debate - Do we need a monarchy?

[Aintshesweet]

Glad this is being debated

Thank you @Delectable

I've just posted similar on another royal thread!

Spot on

This is quite a nonsensical rant without a shred of evidence. Look at how Germany welcomed the King. France would have done the same were it not for their own domestic issues.

The Royals are a big part of UK soft power. See here:

https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lseih/2022/06/30/royal-soft-power-the-british-royal-family-as-public-diplomats/

The Royals as part of British soft power:

www.e-ir.info/2022/10/16/queen-elizabeth-iis-soft-power-and-britains-place-in-a-post-elizabethan-age/

www.cnn.com/2022/09/11/europe/united-kingdom-queen-soft-power-intl-cmd-gbr/index.html

uscpublicdiplomacy.org/blog/elizabeth-ii-charles-iii-triumph-british-ceremonial-and-soft-power

That says it all, really. British pop stars and actors do not have this level of influence - certainly not for 70 years.

The UK is second only to the USA for soft power globally....

This is quite a nonsensical rant without a shred of evidence. Look at how Germany welcomed the King. France would have done the same were it not for their own domestic issues.

Of course they did! They're hardly going to leave him at the airport and tell him to get an Uber!

The same way we welcomed Macron and Merkel in the past and questiionable PMs and heads of governments. It's what countries do.
Soft power... I suppose that means hanging on to the Commonwealth, and vestiges of the Empire etc. The Queen might have been a unifying influence on GB... but in the rest of the world... ? She was respected but Charles won't have what the Queen had... longevity and respect.

BrighteyesBonnie · 27/04/2023 06:10
only children under 10 believe this nonsense about princes and princesses.

And Meghan! Don't forget Meghan. She made sure she has one of each

IronCurtain · 27/04/2023 15:12

Thank you for that. I'm sending a copy to my republican son...

Predictable response aimed at downplaying.

No, the reception goes BEYOND politicians on official visits. It is the reaction of the crowds that makes the difference here.

Reuters headline was "King Charles receives a rock star's welcome in Hamburg".

https://www.reuters.com/video/watch/king-charles-receives-a-rock-stars-welco-id763821038

A US President would get welcomes like that, not Macron or Merkle. Our Monarchs do too.

The late Queen Elizabeth II was well respected around the world, including within the Commonwealth.

Predictable response in relation to the soft power point. No, it's not about "the vestiges of Empire", but about the influence of the UK on the world stage today!

The United Kingdom is second only to the United States of America when it comes to soft power. We're also second to the USA in the Audit of Geopolitical Capability too. As for brand recognition, the UK is sixth, IIRC.

Although not the only aspect of the UK's international standing, the Royals are still a major part of it.

And will be for decades to come yet.

If I downplay, you show desperation! A rock star's welcome for Charles 😂🤣

That's the media for you! There will always be crowds turning out.

but about the influence of the UK on the world stage today!

I'm afraid that's slowly going down the pan given we don't keep our word with agreements, Brexit, lying Johnson, sadly we're a broken Britain who engenders sympathy not influence. I wish that were not the case, but it is, and nothing Charles can do will change that at the moment until some of the problems in the country are addressed.
Even today Jamaica has announced it's planning a vote to leave the Commonwealth and more will follow.

I do admire your optimism about him though.

'Even today Jamaica has announced it's planning a vote to leave the Commonwealth and more will follow.'

Yes, I'm sure this will happen. China are 'investing' heavily in Jamaica currently.

Sounds a bit out of the frying pan.........

I listened to an interview with a Senior Government Minister, she was quite philosophical about it all, she just felt the time was right

There's clearly zero desperation on my part since my points are supported by relevant evidence. E.g. Soft Power Rankings.

Ah, so you're now shifting the goalposts. You originally argued in terms of politicians and now you imply people flocking to see the King don't have their own minds.

"tHaTs ThE mEdIa FoR yOu¡¡¡¡¡¡¡" 🙃

It's not a serious point when the point is that lots of people within and outwith the UK are still very interested in the British Royal Family.

And this is on top of Royal contribution to the UKs influence globally.

Your "bRoKeN bRiTaIN wHo EnGeNdErS sYmPaThY" isn't reflected well in the soft power rankings, hard power rankings, global university rankings, brand recognition rankings and so on.

It's normal for countries to have periods of downturns and we're having one although it's nowhere near as steep as some hoped - remember the "DoOmSdAy¡" stuff?

Aye...

And clearly it also escaped your notice that the person I originally responded to has no evidence of substance to support their nonsense that "The BRF is not well liked at all outside of Britain" and "You can't be used for "soft power" if people don't like or respect you."

This is not what we see in the King's visits or the soft power rankings, for example. That post was a nonsensical, ill thought out rant.

Sorry, can't read your post with all those odd capitals all over the place.

This subject comes up
regularly for debate, usually at a point of change in the country

RF would benefit from employing ‘normal people’ who get their jobs through merit and not family bloodline - too many close to the crown are there due to their aristocratic lineage ( and vested interest)

However - if we move to a presidential constitution who would we get ?( Johnson, Truss, Blair )
Who are the people with the money to put themselves forward?
What would the cost be of having successive presidents who get lots of perks when the job is done?

The country was asked to vote on a big issue recently —- so we decided to drop the EU, that went well didn’t it??

Sometimes the status quo is better than the prospect of whichever mad fool would put themselves up for president