After the wedding

As the dust settles after the royal wedding, perhaps a good time to reflect again on the Monarchy. It occurred to me that it is time to deconstruct the issue, especially after such a ‘successful’ and certainly happy occasion. Reports that Kate and William are ‘different’ seem to be true, but we should not let that cloud our judgment.
The case for the economy is clear – British Monarchy plc certainly turns in a healthy surplus. We could retain the institution for that reason alone. If we worry about their wealth and opulence, I think we can find more worthy targets for our ire in the City, the Premier League and corporate Britain generally. But the other questions are less clear :
Does the Monarchy have any political significance ? If it does, it should certainly be either removed or significantly reformed. We cannot allow an unelected, unaccountable, uncontrolled institution to influence.
Does it have constitutional significance ? The answer is very much yes because the prime minister’s prerogative powers derive from the arbitrary powers of the Monarch which stretch back through history. So the question is should we retain this uncodified, and therefore flexible set of prime ministerial powers or do we need a codified constitution. This raises a supplementary issue – is it realistic to have a codified, entrenched constitution and retain the Monarchy ?
Would an elected head of state be preferable ? This is a tough issue. The Monarchy does allow us to have a titular head of state with no political relevance. An elected ‘president’ brings politics into that role. This means we would have either meaningless figures, probably ex politicians, or would we have intensely political individuals with the concurrent dangerous consequences.
But really the key question seems to be – does the Monarchy have a positive influence on the collective psyche of the Nation. Is it a binding force ? Does it promote a multicultural society ? Does it foster a strong sense of civic pride ? This raises another question : if we need such an outdated institution to maintain national unity, what does that say about us as a Nation ?
No answers, but hopefully some clarity about the questions.


http://www.hoddereducation.co.uk/Colleges/Government---Politics.aspx?mRef=CNM01.