What a contrast between the UK and Sweden! The Swedish opening of parliament subtly indicates the relationship between the Swedish people and King Gustaf XVI, too casual and populist and lacking in the personification of the Kingdom of Sweden. Now, that aggressive Russia is next door and that right -wing Sweden is a certainty , the King of Sweden needs to have more constitutional powers and be the de facto Commander - in Chief of the Royal Swedish Armed Forces,not be reduced to a supine figurehead, Prime Ministers come and go, but not The King of Sweden, and Sweden needs a good titular leader with more constitional power, in a nastier hard right modern Europe. Free the hands of a decent, good advisory King of Sweden with some restored pre - 1973 powers in the State Council, with being a nodding donkey, at the mercy of the populist left or the hard right, The King of Sweden MUST be able to constitutionally check weak Scandinavian populist consensus politics, when Putin is roaring at the back door, it makes Sweden look puny and weak.
Couldn’t agree with you more. As an Englishman who visited Sweden this year for the first time I was shocked and disheartened as my well-informed Swedish friend spelled out the constitutional rôle of the Swedish King who has been politically emasculated and reduced to a figurehead, in contrast to that of the British Sovereign. Decades of successive Socialist governments as frankly, let’s be brutally honest, the agents of the devil, have destroyed the delicate balance of the constitutional monarchy which is a vital check on the self-serving power of ambitious politicians and my heart aches for the tremendous good and selfless service that a monarch who is born to his noble position (and therefore is devoid of ambition) could bring were he able to fulfil his God-given rôle of imparting sage advice and inspiring the service and devotion of his armed forces, to name but two. God save His Majesty the King of Sweden!
The Swedish people are very happy with their country just as it is. Run your country as you see fit and leave us alone to run ours. Our king is happy with the role he currently has and our princess Victoria is the same as her father. Our country is in good hands.
@kathybest6950 l am not so sure about that, monarchy is about having certain boundaries and mystique, not an institution, that can be whittled away to be an empty people's king, you only have to look at the 1973 Coronation of the King of Sweden, what happened to the White Throne?, and the formal reception. Sweden needs to understand that Europe in general, is having too many migrants unfortunately, and monarchies are good, in constitutional terms, at restoring one's historical pride and values, providing it hurts nobody.I have a history degree, so monarchies are not a bad thing, provided, that can advise and warn and hrpl the people on the advice of the prime minister of the day, the Swedish Konung is a muzzled dog of a sorts, can you not see his frustration? I am British, but when l see the antics of the lefties and rightist in Sweden, with a strong libertarian political culture, the Swedish Crown is in trouble.
![King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden attending the opening of parliament in 2023 [English translation]](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
