In the recent news, Prince Charles of England and his (eeek) wife Camilla found themselves amongst a rather unpleasant crowd in London. Their car was attacked by rioting students who were protesting an abominable tuition raise proposed by their government. Ok, so I figured that tuition in most European countries had to be low, because of their whole “socialized” government stand, but apparently now they’re trying to catch up to us, because they just voted to raise the tuition cap at most universities from 3,000 to 9,000 pounds! Now mind you, that’s about a $10,000 increase in American dollars! Can you imagine if next year, our dear ole’ Congress raised our Baruch tuition from $4,000 to $14,000 a semester? But let’s focus on the British Monarchs here. This makes me think of the political frame; the power that has been in the royal family has been getting less and less popular and stable by the day. Bolman and Deal mention that when the power is dispersed in the wrong hands, it will lead to conflict, and though the British generally still approve of the royal family, their approval has definitely been declining. Will the “Crown” tremble some more when the Queen decides to sign into law that tuition bill; especially now, when a rather large and expensive royal wedding is being planned at the cost of an average Brit..? I wonder if any of us will live to see the day the British Monarchy collapses…
Gabriela J.
December 12th,
Find the report here: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/12/12/uk.protests.police/index.html
What happened with Prince Charles and Camilla seemed to be part of an overall outburst of riots that spread throughout London. Some papers are even suggesting that they may have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Royals have lost most of their political power. They are now almost just a symbol of the country, and don’t wield very much power in decision-making. Animosity should be directed at The House of Commons where the tuition hike was approved, or more specifically at the Liberal Democrats who had promised not to increase tuition. However, the fact that taxpayers will provide for the upcoming nuptials and the Queen still does sign legislation is disconnected from what they actually are. Maybe it is time Britain let go of royalty as a symbol of their country. Do the people really want the monarch to be the representation of their values and norms? I would think not, considering this is not the way most people live.
ReplyDeleteFarah
I first just want to clarify that the Queen wouldn't sign anything into law, the Parliament has the authority to pass laws in England, but as related to the topic, I think your general argument holds up for various. The British Monarchy is pretty much the perfect example of a symbol. It holds for all intents and purposes no real power. It is merely a figurehead to perform most all the ceremonial tasks given to heads of state. Think the United States something like pardoning the Thanksgiving Turkeys. Absolutely pointless, but the public eats it up for some reason. In England, these type of events are performed by the Queen.
ReplyDeleteThe reason their is so much anger directed at the the monarchy is that they opulent lifestyles are largely footed by the English taxpayer. Now as they are seeing taxes increased and government services disappear quickly, they must watch the monarchy live their lives of luxury through their tax dollars and British citizens are beginning to feel the symbol of the monarchy is not worth the very real cost.