My fellow Eutopians, and loyal party members,
With regards to the monarchy, a situation with which I have an admittedly personal and long-standing involvement, I echo the sentiments of Mr. Galloglaigh that it is a subject of remarkable tension and division amongst our country. There are those within Eutopian society who would see a complete reversal in so many regards: the total elimination of the freedoms and privileges of democracy which our people have come to expect. For matters of both pragmatism and a genuine desire to see those freedoms preserved, I cannot urge strongly enough that we oppose and prevent all attempts to tear down the edifice of democratic government which has taken so much blood, sweat, and tears to erect.
It is my earnest opinion, as a citizen, a hopeful MP, and an unapologetic citizen of Eutopia and the democratic laws which now direct its course, that the restoration of the monarchy, at the present time, be considered only in its most moderate of possibilities. Namely, the coronation of a monarch inasmuch as a Head of State, utilized in public reception and pageantry, the panoply for which our people crave. Useful, perhaps, in the occasional negotiation with foreign powers, particularly in those who were in alliance with us during the years of monarchy and would be more inclined to do business with a crowned head of state, otherwise the monarch should be given no latitude in foreign policy. There is too much danger of that monarch, no matter how enlightened and restrained, to take it upon him or herself to conduct matters of policy without consultation with the duly elected government of Eutopia, and thereby bring about confusion, contradiction, and all manner of foreign and domestic scandal.
The same should be held with regard to the monarch's role in Parliament. It is my opinion that the same concern for abuse in foreign policy apply here as well. If we grant the monarch the ability to dissolve parliament, such a motion should be accompanied with a provision that parliament may only be dissolved at the command of the monarch, who requires a written request from the President beforehand, which only naturally will be forthcoming in the event of true national crisis where new elections are neccessary. In this way, we may preserve the executive role of the President, and also give the monarchy a hand in guiding the ship of state.
I would also support the involvement of the monarch in parliament. Not as an enthroned and absolute ruler dictating policy, but as a concerned, informed, and just member of society. To that end, I would advocate the bestowal of a permanent seat in parliament to the monarch, who will have seat not on any dais or platform, nor upon any throne or under an officious canopy of state, but on whichever bench he chooses to agree with. I realize this allows for said monarch to have party membership, which may have possible implications with regard to public opinion if that party be one of the more extreme and unpopular, but I argue that our monarch be first and foremost a private citizen, and given all the freedoms and opportunties as any other private citizen of Eutopia.
Before we discuss such matters as which claimant to the throne to support, which is in comparison a minor affair, there must be a cogent, moderate, and at the same time compassionate solution adopted to the problem of the monarchy's future in Eutopia.
So let us, as Mr. Galloglaigh exhorted, find a plausible platform. My suggestions are yours for comment, revision, or rejection.
Friedrich von Saxe-Coburg-Gotha