More Australians approve of the job King Charles is doing as Australia’s head of state than approve of the job Anthony Albanese is doing as Prime Minister.
The only reason that reality isn’t entirely embarrassing for Albo, as he contemplates when to call the next federal election, is that the same is true when you compare satisfaction with the King with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.
Who would have thought support for the monarchy would stay so strong in the wake of the Queen’s passing?
Republicans had longed anticipated that moment in time as when it could ramp up another campaign for Australia to break ties with Britain.
Former head of the Australian Republican Movement, and subsequent prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull long used the then-future death of the Queen as his way of avoiding questions about whether he would pursue another referendum on the issue.
It was a convenient excuse back then, but it was also a guide to when exactly republican advocates thought their time to achieve the goal of independence would come.
Peter Fitzsimons was the long time face of the Australian Republican Movement – but passed the role on to Craig Foster and Nova Peris, both of whom have since departed the role
Some protesters unfurled a banner reading ‘DECOLONISE’ – in a message to King Charles and Queen CamillaÂ
Some were more polite than others in the immediate passing of Queen Elizabeth II to call for a period of mourning before ramping up any such campaign.
But fast forward more than two years post her passing and even cautious republicans would have expected to gain more momentum towards their goal than is currently the case.
In truth, how questions are asked plays a major role in what published polls suggest is the case when it comes to support for becoming a republic.
Worded broadly, most Australians – like me – will answer an opinion poll confirming they are in favour of a republic.
But when polling agencies dig a little deeper, most Australians (like me) are in no rush whatsoever to become a republic. Â
Republicans like me support breaking formal ties from Britain in the name of nation building and as the next step on the pathway to Australia’s middle power future in a globalised world.Â
We don’t support it because of some myopic view that colonialism was bad for this country. Or that British influence has had a negative impact on the political culture our democratic polity has developed.Â
Such thinking is radical and off the mark, and it certainly doesn’t appeal to mainstream Australians.
But many Aussies aren’t even sure they trust greater empowerment of the political class under a republican model.
And there is even a sense that the shift is so far down the order of priorities right now that it has all but faded from view.
Throw in the debacle that was the Indigenous Voice referendum process – spearheaded by an incompetent Prime Minister – and the number of Australians wanting to go through a version of that to make the constitutional shift to a republic falls even further.
So why is support for Australia becoming a republic on the slide? The above factors are part of the explanation, but there is more to it than that.
The republican cause has been hijacked by the sort of people you’d never really want to endorse.Â
Advocates see the process as a form of activism for activism’s sake, rather than a considered goal for the next step of national growth.
I would be embarrassed to join the republican cause when I look around at those who have been pushing it unsuccessfully in recent years.
Lidia Thorpe made an utter goose of herself screaming obscenities at the visiting King on Monday
It is essentially little more than a plaything to them, alongside dozens of other causes they hold dear – until they don’t.
It has become fake republicanism, rather than reform championed by experts and analysts.
And when you observe scenes like we saw yesterday, when Senator Lidia Thorpe made an utter goose of herself screaming obscenities at the visiting King, it is hard not to think that if we do become a republic it will simply be used by the likes of her as a pathway to spark more divisive debates that most Australians don’t want to have.
Which leaves many thinking that maybe the best way to head that off is to stick with the status quo.
My American heritage has always made me a cynic when it comes to royal patronage. It just seems silly the idea that you can be born into such standing the way the British do it.
But if supporting a King helps keep the likes of Thorpe at bay, maybe I can embrace my inner royal.
It is the lesser of evils when observing the stupidity of modern activists like her.
