to THE AGE
No, despite your editorial claim (‘Leaders should unite on push for republic’, 29/7), the monarchy is much more than ‘a colonial and imperial relic’. Monarchy by its nature enshrines something that no republic can provide: a glorious and spiritual mystique which has extraordinary power to unite subjects in a loyalty that provides national strength as well as the sense of being part of a noble enterprise, divinely sanctified. The oneness of the monarch echoes the oneness of God.
The world’s arts and literature are filled with the joyful celebration of royalty. You will never find there anything comparable for republican presidents or prime ministers. As for Mr Shorten’s plans, it looks as though in a shifty manner he and his fellow-republicans are trying to dodge a referendum on the fundamental question. Such irresponsibility is the opposite of statesmanship.
NJ, Belgrave, Vic