1776 and all that
When we see the rapturous reception accorded to the Queen in the United States this week, we can all give thanks for the fact that we have a monarchy.
To have a Head of State who is above party politics has actually been hugely advantageous. The thought of some retired politician being elevated to the position is truly alarming. They would carry the baggage of office. For her, it is an incredible personal achievement never to have put a foot wrong, or been indiscreet, or indeed partisan in any way at all.
What on the face of it is an anachronism has worked brilliantly for us, and is recognised as such in the United States and elsewhere. When modern history was trumpeted to have begun in 1997, with Cool Britannia, the “young country” and all the other New Labour babble, we now can recognise that it was going to disappear like every other fad and fancy before it.
By total contrast it is good to have somebody of such enduring qualities and character, who has watched politicians, with all their pretensions, come and go. For all his communication skills, Tony Blair disappears into the sunset with a reputation of being unable to distinguish between fact and fiction.
If the Queen ever stood for office, she would win by a landslide. Happily for us, however, she never needs to have such an endorsement.