Barbados set to abolish its 394 year-old monarchy and become a republic

[-:Undertaker:-]

Barbados set to abolish its 394 year-old monarchy and become a republic

The Queen of Barbados, Elizabeth II, and the Governor-General will be replaced by a President ending a monarchy that began in 1627

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-54174794

Barbados has announced its intention to remove Queen Elizabeth as its head of state and become a republic.

"The time has come to fully leave our colonial past behind," the Caribbean island nation's government said.

It aims to complete the process in time for the 55th anniversary of independence from Britain, in November 2021.

A speech written by Prime Minister Mia Mottley said Barbadians wanted a Barbadian head of state.

"This is the ultimate statement of confidence in who we are and what we are capable of achieving," the speech read.

Buckingham Palace said that it was a matter for the government and people of Barbados.

Incredibly sad.

The irony of it all is though, that the Barbadian Labour Party and the awful Prime Minister who leads it, are in the pocket of the Chinese Communist Party and this is likely a move on their part to extent Chinese influence. Barbados will go from an independent constitutional monarchy, to a Chinese puppet state.

Thoughts?

[Seatherny]

Good, all countries should abolish Elizabeth as a their monarch. Have a head of state who lives in your country!

[-:Undertaker:-]

Good, all countries should abolish Elizabeth as a their monarch. Have a head of state who lives in your country!

For all intents and purposes she does, given the Governor-General (her Barbados representative) carries out duties on behalf of the monarch.

Now the head of state will de facto live in Peking.

[-:Undertaker:-]

The Prince of Wales has landed in Barbados ahead of the abolition of the Barbadian monarchy.

He is due to be awarded the Order of the Freedom of Barbados, the country's highest order.

A reminder that this is being done without a referendum, the last opinion poll on this matter in 2015 had Monarchy at 64% and Republic at 24%.

WATCH: Prince Charles arrives in Barbados to remove the Queen as head of state, as the island becomes a republic pic.twitter.com/EuR9C6cajW

— GB News (@GBNEWS) November 29, 2021

[Seatherny]

Mottley, who has campaigned on republicanism, won a landslide victory in 2018 elections when her party won all 30 seats in the House of Assembly. Mottley believes the people of Barbados gave her a clear mandate to break with the monarchy.

Have a president who actually knows the country and lives in the country, not someone who visits once in a blue moon.

[-:Undertaker:-]

Have a president who actually knows the country and lives in the country, not someone who visits once in a blue moon.

Canada's Prime Minister in the 1970s and the premier of Quebec found the Queen to be better informed of events in Canada than their own Canadian civil servants.

Geography has very little to do with what form of government is better or whether a person is ignorant or well-versed in the constitutional life of a nation.

[Seatherny]

1970 v 2021

This is like me saying slavery is the best thing ever. And women should not be allowed to vote... because you know thats what people thought 50 years ago.

[-:Undertaker:-]

1970 v 2021

This is like me saying slavery is the best thing ever. And women should not be allowed to vote... because you know thats what people thought 50 years ago.

I'm really not sure what slavery or allowing women the vote has to do with a constitutional parliamentary monarchy vs a constitutional parliamentary republic. Many Caribbean countries held onto the monarchy as it was incorruptible as an institution, and given the experience of other new island republics with coup de'tats.

Many on the island are puzzled at this, and it certainly should have gone to a referendum given its questionable popularity and constitutional importance. It's certainly the case that in most of the other Commonwealth realms, a referendum is a part of convention for such a change - which is why a republic failed in Australia (1999), Tuvalu (2008) and Saint Vincent & the Grenadines (2009). It's a sad day for Barbados, but at least their new masters will be celebrating in Peking.

The Queen or Xi Jinping? I know which I prefer.

🗣️ Sir Gary Sobers, the Barbadian national hero and cricket’s greatest ever all-rounder, has lamented his country’s decision to break with the Queen, saying: “It will be very sad for a lot of us” https://t.co/TMqwOsztzK

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) November 29, 2021

[Seatherny]

You are saying a 50 year old result is still valid today? You are insane. Like I said, every country should remove the queen as head of state.

[-:Undertaker:-]

You are saying a 50 year old result is still valid today? You are insane. Like I said, every country should remove the queen as head of state.

As I keep pointing out, most of the time whenever the monarchy goes to a referendum, the people in the Commonwealth realms want to retain it. If Australia, Tuvalu and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are happy with their constitutional set up that they've had since their country became a country, who are you to tell them otherwise? If Barbados had held a referendum on it and chosen a republic then fair enough, but the fact the PM did not hold one suggests she was afraid of losing.

In what way does replacing a tried and tested system of government with a politician somehow make it better?