End of the Monarchies

[sydguy71]

Interesting to read Dimitri and John of Ilias statements.
 I would hope that our first President will be none other than Paul Keating himself. Then at last we can hold our head high again since 1996. What a great moment for Australia, a president, and Paul Keating back doing what he does best.

A republic may not happen this term, but it cannot be to far away.

[dmitri]

How utterly bizarre. Keating would be about as likely to be elected to the non-existent position of "President" as an old boot found at the bottom of the harbour stuffed with stolen cash. I guess some people fail to realise how utterly defeated the republic was at the 1996 referendum. Even Rudd is making no statements about when and if any future referendum will be held. He knows it is a vote loser. 

[Grace]

Interesting to read Dimitri and John of Ilias statements.
 I would hope that our first President will be none other than Paul Keating himself. Then at last we can hold our head high again since 1996. What a great moment for Australia, a president, and Paul Keating back doing what he does best.

A republic may not happen this term, but it cannot be to far away.

Paul Keating?  You must be joking.  The idea of this foul-mouthed embittered has-been as Australian President is too awful even to joke about...

[dmitri]

Yes his latest is his ow and utterly despicable attack on the late Paddy McGuniness. It is a clear sign of how totally inappropriate Keating would be. He was booted out of office in 1996 as he was loathed. He presided over one of the most divisive times in Australian history as well as caused the recession "we had to have", double digit inflation, unemployment and interest rates. He also ran up the highest level of foreign debt ever seen in the history of Australia. No wonder he lost power. Even his wife left him as she couldn't stand him any longer. Not much hope of being a successful President there. He would never be considered even by Rudd who has ruled out any former politician, from either side of politics, for the office of Governor-General.

[Belochka]

Interesting to read Dimitri and John of Ilias statements.
 I would hope that our first President will be none other than Paul Keating himself. Then at last we can hold our head high again since 1996. What a great moment for Australia, a president, and Paul Keating back doing what he does best.

A republic may not happen this term, but it cannot be to far away.

Paul Keating?  You must be joking.  The idea of this foul-mouthed embittered has-been as Australian President is too awful even to joke about...

Perhaps he should remember his own line "that souffles do not rise twice".

[Norbert]

This is all very interesting. An Australian friend turned to me and told me how sad it was that Britain didn't rule despotically. There would have been an Australian Declaration of Independence, a heroic war led by the founding fathers and the Glorious new republic and flag...poor old Brits are always in the wrong.

[dmitri]

One wonders what that friend was on. Australians were saved from all those nightmares.

[Ilias_of_John]

Paul Keating as President?
The man who said we had to have a recession and then called us a banana republic?
That Swedish clock collector?(Not that I have any thing against swedish clocks mind you!)

The perfect candidate for a president he certainly is, more power to the politicians, remove centuries of trial and error and replace it with  a has been who cant show his face in respectable company!

Who are you Syd guy 71?, Keatings lost love child or an escapee from a new south welsh mental hospital?
Mind you, the new south welsh hospital system is so bad I don't blame you if you have escaped!

Why would we hold our heads up high with him as Prez?, and what exactly does he do best? talk rubbish?


And Norbert, your friend really needs some very urgent medical attention!

The Canadians didnt feel despotised did they? They remained part of the Empire, they progressed and developed,they saw no reason to abandon their tried and tested system.

[Belochka]

This is all very interesting. An Australian friend turned to me and told me how sad it was that Britain didn't rule despotically. There would have been an Australian Declaration of Independence, a heroic war led by the founding fathers and the Glorious new republic and flag...poor old Brits are always in the wrong.

But Norbet your Australian friend seems to have forgotten that we already having our founding fathers, Sir John Quick and Sir Robert Garran!

[dmitri]

Yes Australians asked for and were given our independence without any problems. In fact Queen Victoria said "give the Australians what they want" and Australians certainly received it. At a time when the British House of Commons had 7 year terms Australians asked for and were given 3 year terms for the new House of Representatives. The thought of a war was never contemplated. To think some countries have to resort to that is very sad indeed.

[Norbert]

Prince Albert considered the eventual division of the British Empire amongst his sons...imagine Alfred King of Canada, Arthur King in South Africa and poor Leopold King of Australia-NZ. It would have been like the Braganza's in Brazil.

[HerrKaiser]

Yes Australians asked for and were given our independence without any problems. In fact Queen Victoria said "give the Australians what they want" and Australians certainly received it. At a time when the British House of Commons had 7 year terms Australians asked for and were given 3 year terms for the new House of Representatives. The thought of a war was never contemplated. To think some countries have to resort to that is very sad indeed.

Well, it wasn't up to QV to give away anything.

Countries who had been overtaken by military might may, of course, find that war is the only way out from under the yoke of imperialism. That is, if they had the wherewithall. The vast majority of Britian's colonial empire was in no way able to mount a defense or offense to the British war machine.

[Learning]

I always thought that Friedrich Ebert was an anti-monarchist. But, now that I am starting to read about him, it seems that he was not as strongly anti-monarchy as I thought. Was there ever a referendum on whether the various German states should be republics or monarchies? It seems that during the Revolution the monarchs abdicated and, later, the Weimar Assembly just took republicanism for granted.

[HerrKaiser]

Ebert actually had intended that the monarchy remain with a different Kaiser. during the fall of 1918, however, mass confusion and revolution  reigned in Germany and communists were declaring victory at the same time other factions were doing likewise. The aristocracy, generally, did not know how to bring calm since their entire lineage/experience was essentially not having to fight for their own power. So they basically gave up for this reason and also to save their own skins since there was real danger of assassination. Let's face it, the same bolsheviks who were in control in Berlin in 1918 murdered NII just one year earlier. Very scary.

the Weimar Assembly, in my view, took nothing for granted other than the revolution that had taken place four months earlier was quelled. Reasonable peace prevailed. the political party coalitions were feeling fully capable of ruling Germany, and the Allies were in the midst of crafting the Versailles treaty without the participation of the Germans on any level.

[lababoc]

HERRKAISER I read somewhere  (scapes me where )that Bismark bribed many Kings  and Princes and Dukes so he woul be able to unify Germany    truth or false ? thank you