Canada has a proud royalist tradition, however, this does not exclude that the media try to create scandals were there aren't any. Patricia Treble of MACLEANS.CA looked at the Monarchies in Europe and came to the conclusion: Europe’s monarchies: scandal-ridden but such good fun.
When the term "scandal-ridden" comes up, republics outdo crowned democracies by miles. However, on one point Patricia Treble was fair to Monarchies. She admitted that in the end they do not come more expensive than an uncrowned head of state.
And presidents—the other alternative—aren’t any cheaper, as even the Swedish Republican Association acknowledges. (No country is nutty enough to adopt the U.S. model of combining ceremonial and political leaders into one person, so not having a monarch means having a president.) In June, Germany got a new head of state. Christian Wulff, a state politician in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party, was elected after three bitterly fought ballots. With the title comes the neoclassical behemoth of Bellevue Palace, the venue of all those state dinners, receptions and official tours. The budget: $40 million.
Of course Patricia Treble - and most other foreign media people - did not cover the latest scandal concerning president Wulff. His meddling in German politics had the daily newspaper Die Welt publish an article under the headline Christian Wulff, das Problem des bürgerlichen Lagers (Christian Wulff, the bourgeois camp's problem, 17th September 2010)
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2 comments:
It is better say nothing about the republican scandals in Portugal. It's a shame for a 900 years old country. Viva o Rei!
Same in all republics, Nuno.
Only the republicans can get away with it by claiming they (or their republican system) were without alternatives. As if they weere irreplaceable!
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