- 22 Jan 2017 10:19
#14766241
I would like to add that a democratic system can sometimes too enjoy benefits of a monarchy - namely long term planning, stability, predictability.
A good example is Russia, despite being a non-liberal democracy. Initially people chose Yeltsin but after seeing he only broke Russia opted for Putin. He will get elected for as long as he wants as he demonstrated he puts Russian interests first and doesn't make catastrophic decision. He is also not afraid of communicating with people directly in TV. Once Putin is gone, a period of instability may follow. To me it looks like he wished Romanovs were never executed and monarchy could return to Russia.
In the west probably Germany is the only example with Angela Merkel, but with catastrophic repercussions in the future, especially due to her support of islamic immigration. She may be the person to destroy the EU.
In most countries however the problem is leaders have short term visions only and cannot maintain long term support as their policies either don't work or they are too corrupt. The democratic system allows politicians to wash their hands from responsibility. Who is responsible for the economic problems of Greece? Nobody knows who is really making decisions. In Russia you can clearly identify the responsible person as you know who is in power. In Ukraine you can keep electing different parties but the result will be the same.
In many small countries it can be a major problem to find suitable candidates for the role of president as it is the highest position that requires a revered candidate, very hard to find in countries with 5-10 million inhabitants. A monarch would fill this position very well. When speaking of monarchy I mean constitutional monarchy, not an absolutist monarchy as that system is obsolete.
As monarchy is meant to bring an element of stability, I see it as very important to apply the rule of equal marriage being required for the heir apparent, although it can be seen as incompatible with modern society. It guarantees that a "random" person cannot easily marry into royal family with intention to take over. Imagine some oligarch, celebrity, mafia or foreign secret service finding their way to marry into royal family. They should only be allowed to marry members of current or former ruling houses or they are out. I see this as the price they have to pay for being allowed to "rule" a country. I would not support a royal family that doesn't apply this rule.