dilluns, 4 de juny del 2012

Don't stop me now - Queen #Jubilee_Elephants

Aquests dies a Anglaterra s’està celebrant els 60 anys com a Reina de la reina Elizabeth II. Diuen les enquestes que un 88% de la població està a favor de la monarquia, i que aquest % no varia massa quan es mira a Gal•les, Irlanda del Nort, i Escocia – les altres parts del RU. Tampoc varia massa quan mirem els votants de esquerra/dreta. En fi, sembla que la gran majoria dels britànics està a favor de la monarquia, i no està continuament qüestionada com el Rei d’Espanya. Podem esbrinar els motius ... personalment, aquí em considero republicà, però quan estic a Anglaterra, em considero un “no-m’importa-ni-si-ni-no” persona. Encara que entenc la teoria que ningú ha de néixer per liderar en una democràcia, donat que els reis i regnes no lideren res, tampoc m’importa gaire. De fet, comparant la reina amb els presidents triats democracticament com George Bush o Berlusconi, començo a entendre l’estima en vers la reina.

La familia real britànica ha tingut els seus alts i baixos, però en general, la població té l’imatgen d’ells com el punt estable de les seves vides. Canviem de politics, surten escandols de corrupció, passem pels booms i crisi, però sempre tenim la reina com a punt de referència. Sempre està present quan passa qualsevol desgracia, o quan tornen els morts de les guerres inutiles que ens preparen els politics. El Rei espanyol no té el mateix paper, i més bé passa desaparegut davant dels problemes del país – per bé o per mal!

També crec que sortim guanyant economicament. Per molt que ens costa, és veritat que tot el “show” de la familia real aporta molts de turistes i diners, molts més dels diners que els hem de pagar.

L’ultima diferencia que veig, ja ho he tocat abans – aquí és evident que els catalans no volen ni estimen al rei d’EspaÑa, mentre sembla que la majoria d’escocesos, fins i tot si aconsegueixen l’independència, voldrien que la Reina continui sent Reina de Escocia. Normal si mirem l’historia ....

Interessant.

Aquests dies si mireu alguna cosa de la televisió anglesa, vereu molts d’actes amb molts d’actes pel public (concerts gratis!), i a quasi tots el pobles estan montant festes pel carrer i treient les banderes – ja que no guanyarem al futbol, almenys gaudeixen uns dies amb aquestes celebracions.
.....
These days back in the UK they are having a jolly good time celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. According to what I’ve read, and my own personal experience, the vast majority (over 80%) of folk agree with the idea of a monarchy and love the Queen. Meanwhile here in Catalonia/Spain, the Royal Family is less popular than ever – and that’s saying something! Here’s Brian’s analysis of the differences – why I’m a republican here, but a don’t-really-mind kind of person when back in England.

OK, so it sounds stupid to have someone “leading” your country just because of their birth rights – but as it’s not really leading, just a figurehead ... and comparing the Queen with democractically elected Presidents like Berlusconi, ehm!

I suppose the principal difference is that the Queen and UK Royal Family have always been there, through thick and thin, turning up in their Rolls Royces to offer words of comfort or support, whereas the Spanish royal family was basically booted out under the short-lived republic before being brought back to replace Franco! To top that, there is no love lost in Catalonia for anything Spanish, much less a “foreign” royal family.

Whereas the UK Queen gets cheered wherever she goes, the Spanish King wouldn’t really dare show his face in public over here without some very careful crowd control.

The Spanish King seems to get a fair wage from the tax-payers, just like Lizzie – with the difference being that millions of tourists flood to London to leave their hard-earned dollars and yen, whereas the Spanish haven’t set up a “business” like this.

So, anyway, UK blog readers, enjoy your holidays and street parties (in the rain). Whether it be for the Queen or for any other reason, there’s nothing wrong with a good party!

4 comentaris:

  1. I'm firmly on the fence with regards to all things royal and/or olympic and/or political.... as a non-earning non-tax-paying individual at present I can't say that any of it really costs me very much at all!! Yes, the queen is a good money spinner though, perhaps we ought to rent her out to countries in financial trouble.... perhaps Greece would take her for a couple of weeks? Join the queue Spain!!

    ResponElimina
  2. As our good old friend Sir Tebbit used to say, Get on ya bike!
    ... but don't come here, with unemployment currently running at over 20%!
    We'd only really want the Queen over here if she moved up from fox-hunting to elephant-hunting, a much more seriouss hobby.

    In my younger days, I used to be a lot more radical (probably thanks to Marxist secondary school teachers), but now I really couldn't care .. and must admit, there's nothing like a bit of pomp, glory, and a good old knees-up.

    ResponElimina
  3. .... hums 'Land of Hope and Glory' quietly in the background from the Antipodes.

    ResponElimina
  4. As I realised watching the highlights of the paegant, we've got quite a few good old tunes for raising the spirits!!

    ResponElimina