Anti-monarchists prepare to protest the coronation of King Carlos

While surveys of the British royal family vary, a recent poll by opinion research firm YouGov found that around 2/3 of people don’t care or care very little about the coronation.

However, in London, where preparations for the ceremony are in full swing, the leader of the anti-monarchy group, Smith, explained the reasons for his opposition to the royal family, his alternative to the monarchy and how they would turn the coronation around. . ceremony into an opportunity for his own campaigns.

Expressing his desire to have an institution that reflects these values ​​rather than a monarchy, which is against democratic values ​​as a principled argument, Smith said: “The monarchy is not fit for purpose. “We have standards for how institutions work in this country, and the monarchy lags far behind those standards,” he said.

Calling for democratic reform, Smith said: “The alternative is to take what we have and democratize it and turn it around. “It’s about having an institution that is accountable, transparent and abides by standards and principles, and therefore improving our democracy.”

“WE HAVE SEEN A SHARP DECLINE IN SUPPORT FOR THE MONARCHIS”

Referring to polling studies showing that support for the monarchy declined after the death of England’s Queen Elizabeth II, Smith said:

“The ‘Queen’ represented the monarchy to many people, so we saw a sharp decline in support for the monarchy after the Queen’s death. This support for preserving the monarchy has long hovered around 75 percent. It has now fallen below 60 percent. Support for the abolition of the monarchy increased by about 10 points. As such, it has become a more contested institution, and the main reason for that is not only because (King) Charles is a complex figure, but also because she is not his mother. I think that’s his problem. They lost that person (the Queen) who was the monarchy”.

THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT IT CONTRIBUTES TO TOURISM”

Smith also stressed that he did not agree with the assessment that a large number of tourists visit the country each year in the interest of the British Royal Family, and therefore the Crown contributes to the British economy.

“There is no evidence that the monarchy contributes to tourism. This has been disproven many times before, and certainly big events tend to keep people away as well as attract them, the net effect of which is negative. (Declaration of 8 May as a public holiday to celebrate the King’s coronation) In particular, the additional public holiday will cost us more than £1 billion.”

On the other hand, Smith affirmed that the coronation ceremony, which will be followed live on television by people from all over the world and will be attended by many high-ranking personalities, will be in a way an opportunity to make anti-monarchist voices heard. heard voices.

“The only good thing about the coronation is that it will give us[a los antimonárquicos]the opportunity to campaign and be in front of the cameras at the ceremony, which will be seen by millions of people,” said Graham Smith. That is why we will be very prominent with our yellow and black colors, we will protest, we will make a lot of noise and we will not miss the opportunity that day.” (AA)