maryportfuncity 10,637 Posted December 19, 2017 Also by no means clear exactly how far into constitutional power any new monarchy would go. I've worked in Romania a few times over the last six years and King Mihai was a figure of some affection - a fact based largely on their low opinion of politicians and political corruption in the country. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Death Impends 7,953 Posted December 19, 2017 Aren't Michael's descendants nowhere nearly as popular? Would have thought any slim hopes of a monarchy returning died with him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maryportfuncity 10,637 Posted December 19, 2017 2 hours ago, Death Impends said: Aren't Michael's descendants nowhere nearly as popular? Would have thought any slim hopes of a monarchy returning died with him. These things are relative - there's a history of political corruption and public distrust of politics in Romania that runs long and deep. Producing a head of state has often relied on a major bung (one way or another) so likely producing one via a bunk up is marginally preferrable to some in that country. FFS Spain went from fascism to monarchy within a few decades. Romania is also watching Russia find excuses to help the neighbours and a monarchy is at odds with the way Putin organises power. Stranger things have happened. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thatcher 2,377 Posted December 19, 2017 Also, Nicholas Medforth-Mills is over in Romania and apparently 'winning hearts in Bucharest'. He had been exiled and stripped of his title, but him and his fiancée are proving quite popular. Maybe the Romanian Royal Family will have to accept if there is a way back it might not be through the people they'd hope. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GossipGabe 333 Posted December 19, 2017 17 minutes ago, maryportfuncity said: These things are relative - there's a history of political corruption and public distrust of politics in Romania that runs long and deep. Producing a head of state has often relied on a major bung (one way or another) so likely producing one via a bunk up is marginally preferrable to some in that country. FFS Spain went from fascism to monarchy within a few decades. Romania is also watching Russia find excuses to help the neighbours and a monarchy is at odds with the way Putin organises power. Stranger things have happened. The first sentence about those sentiments could apply to the wider Central and Eastern European region as well. In Hungary, the Habsburgs have rarely been as popular as in the 1990s-2000s, and the deposed Simeon II of Bulgaria got elected as a PM in 2001. In many of these countries, the end of the local monarchy was brought about by the invading Soviets and their communist ideology (although existing republican sentiment was a contributing factor), but the "socialist" system that they forced on them proved to be an economic disaster in the long run. People had high hopes about the new political and economic regimes (democracy and capitalism), but reality has not lived up to their expectations, since only their politicians and a thin elite could achieve the Western living standards that they all dreamed about. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites