The British economy seems to have been going along a bumpy road for the past 3 years: there has been just as much good news as bad on the whole, with no real extremes either way- for better or worse. Although this process continues, there are several reasons for cautious optimism:
Despite the hindrance resulting from the Euro-crisis and belt-tightening across Europe generally (a traditional key source of British income from exports); exports outside of Europe, to the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries, as well as members of the G20 are much more promising. And there are great expectations for the US-EU free trade agreement on the way.
Although British-owned car brands only include a handful of niche vehicles; actual manufacturing of cars has not been so high in the UK over the past 60 years as it is now, with Britain now exporting more cars than it imports.
A particularly praiseworthy statistic is that the number of new private sector jobs since 2010 greatly outweighs the public sector jobs lost so far to spending cuts. Also, more people are in employment now than ever in British history (though the fact that unemployment nevertheless remains an issue demonstrates how much larger the British population has become).
Problems remain, with government debt a relentlessly stubborn issue undermining progress- but things are generally heading in the right direction.
Saturday, 22 June 2013
Monarchies of Europe, arise?
As a monarchist, with a keen interest in British and European monarchy, I have noticed that the interest and relative success of European monarchy since the end of the Cold War- and over the last few years in particular. In this time of disillusionment with ruling political elites, there seems to have been a noticeable gravitation towards royal families and the fairy tale, reassuring family and apolitical image and role that they have.
Last year the jubilees of Queen Elizabeth II of Britain and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark were celebrated; whilst this year there was the inauguration of King Wilem-Alexander of the Netherlands, who succeeded his mother Queen Beatrix after her abdication. This is not to mention several royal weddings and births across Europe recently, which have offered escapism for many members of the public. However, despite these events in Western Europe, the region of Europe to observe in terms of support for the monarchy is Eastern Europe- particularly Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Albania. Although these countries have been (or at least part of) republics since the Second World War, as communists forced royals from the thrones of Eastern Europe, deposed royals and their descendants have attempted to subtly reassert their claims to their former thrones- with some success.
Prince Nikola of Montenegro, great-grandson of the last reigning Montenegrin monarch, King Nikola I, received a warm welcome back to Montenegro in 2011. The Montenegrin government formally apologised for the poor treatment of the Montenegrin royals since they were forced from the throne at the end of the First World War- particularly during the communist era. As well as this, the Government also returned the former Montenegrin royal palaces to Prince Nikola; gave him an apartment in the Montenegrin capital, Podgorica; and a salary for Prince Nikola to act as an international representative of Montenegro, in addition to his charitable and supporting roles within Montenegro itself. Consequently, Prince Nikola has been considered by some to be Montenegro's de facto monarch- living in a country where the flag already contains the symbol of the Montenegrin royal family.
The former King Michael of Romania was forced from the throne as a teenage monarch at the end of the Second World War, allegedly at gunpoint, by the new Soviet Union-backed communist Romanian government. He is still alive today, but now an elderly gentleman, who nevertheless attracts crowds of millions supporters in his country, where he returned following the fall of communism there in the 1990s. In the past few years, King Michael has been invited to speak in the Romanian parliament on his birthday; has had a public square in the Romanian capital, Bucharest, named after him; and was recently voted the most trusted public figure in Romania. Meanwhile, the current Romanian president, Traian Basescu, has been shrouded in scandals, and has had a tenuous grip on power for much of the past 5 years.
Like Montenegro, Serbia's national flag contains the symbol of its former monarchy. Crown Prince Alexander (the son of the last Serbian monarch, King Peter II) returned to Serbia in the wake of the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia. Serbia, once the hub of Yugoslavia, was left alone with her national identity battered and bruised. Prince Alexander is an active campaigner for the restoration of the monarchy as a new focus of national identity. He is a very visible presence in Serbia, promoting the role of his ancestors in Serbia's national history, as well as promoting Serbia abroad and highlighting his ties with Europe's other royal families. Prince Alexander and the rest of the Serbian royal family reside in a palace in the Serbian capital, Belgrade.
Finally, Prince Leka, grandson of the last Albanian monarch, King Zog, has been appointed as a government adviser. This comes 10 years after his late father, also called Prince Leka, unsuccessfully campaigned for a restoration of the Albanian monarchy in a referendum in the 1990s, soon after communism fell there.
Whether these four potential monarchs, or any of their numerous counterparts elsewhere in Europe, will make any further progress is unclear, as monarchies have become a rare breed since the World Wars- with only a handful of restorations ever since. Nevertheless, with elected politicians currently attracting unusually high hostility and disillusionment among their citizens, whilst mindful of the national euphoria and celebrations experienced in Europe's remaining monarchies; people may be tempted to give Kings and Queens another try. Or maybe that's just wishful thinking, even a fairy tale, for monarchists to wait for in vain.
Last year the jubilees of Queen Elizabeth II of Britain and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark were celebrated; whilst this year there was the inauguration of King Wilem-Alexander of the Netherlands, who succeeded his mother Queen Beatrix after her abdication. This is not to mention several royal weddings and births across Europe recently, which have offered escapism for many members of the public. However, despite these events in Western Europe, the region of Europe to observe in terms of support for the monarchy is Eastern Europe- particularly Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Albania. Although these countries have been (or at least part of) republics since the Second World War, as communists forced royals from the thrones of Eastern Europe, deposed royals and their descendants have attempted to subtly reassert their claims to their former thrones- with some success.
Prince Nikola of Montenegro, great-grandson of the last reigning Montenegrin monarch, King Nikola I, received a warm welcome back to Montenegro in 2011. The Montenegrin government formally apologised for the poor treatment of the Montenegrin royals since they were forced from the throne at the end of the First World War- particularly during the communist era. As well as this, the Government also returned the former Montenegrin royal palaces to Prince Nikola; gave him an apartment in the Montenegrin capital, Podgorica; and a salary for Prince Nikola to act as an international representative of Montenegro, in addition to his charitable and supporting roles within Montenegro itself. Consequently, Prince Nikola has been considered by some to be Montenegro's de facto monarch- living in a country where the flag already contains the symbol of the Montenegrin royal family.
The former King Michael of Romania was forced from the throne as a teenage monarch at the end of the Second World War, allegedly at gunpoint, by the new Soviet Union-backed communist Romanian government. He is still alive today, but now an elderly gentleman, who nevertheless attracts crowds of millions supporters in his country, where he returned following the fall of communism there in the 1990s. In the past few years, King Michael has been invited to speak in the Romanian parliament on his birthday; has had a public square in the Romanian capital, Bucharest, named after him; and was recently voted the most trusted public figure in Romania. Meanwhile, the current Romanian president, Traian Basescu, has been shrouded in scandals, and has had a tenuous grip on power for much of the past 5 years.
Like Montenegro, Serbia's national flag contains the symbol of its former monarchy. Crown Prince Alexander (the son of the last Serbian monarch, King Peter II) returned to Serbia in the wake of the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia. Serbia, once the hub of Yugoslavia, was left alone with her national identity battered and bruised. Prince Alexander is an active campaigner for the restoration of the monarchy as a new focus of national identity. He is a very visible presence in Serbia, promoting the role of his ancestors in Serbia's national history, as well as promoting Serbia abroad and highlighting his ties with Europe's other royal families. Prince Alexander and the rest of the Serbian royal family reside in a palace in the Serbian capital, Belgrade.
Finally, Prince Leka, grandson of the last Albanian monarch, King Zog, has been appointed as a government adviser. This comes 10 years after his late father, also called Prince Leka, unsuccessfully campaigned for a restoration of the Albanian monarchy in a referendum in the 1990s, soon after communism fell there.
Whether these four potential monarchs, or any of their numerous counterparts elsewhere in Europe, will make any further progress is unclear, as monarchies have become a rare breed since the World Wars- with only a handful of restorations ever since. Nevertheless, with elected politicians currently attracting unusually high hostility and disillusionment among their citizens, whilst mindful of the national euphoria and celebrations experienced in Europe's remaining monarchies; people may be tempted to give Kings and Queens another try. Or maybe that's just wishful thinking, even a fairy tale, for monarchists to wait for in vain.
Sunday, 16 June 2013
Architecture & Shopping in London
Although I like to hear about redevelopment in London, spreading wealth and opportunities across London (and I would like to see this approach on a nationwide scale), I think that, surely, more time and originality could go into new London buildings. Recently in the City of London, we have had (or are in the process of developing) several skyscrapers, including the Shard, Walky-Talky, Cheesegrater, Pinnacle... All given nicknames to try and make them sound interesting, when really they are quite unimaginative towers of glass- interfering with the London skyline. Then, around the Battersea area, all new developments involve glass buildings, such as the new American embassy. The Victoria area is being redeveloped, complete with the Victoria Wedge which, once again, involves whole swathes of glass once again. In East London, the Silvertown area will also be covered in glass buildings. Spotting a pattern? Instead of thoughtful architecture, with many minute details and historical significance (think St Paul's cathedral and the Houses of Parliament); glass buildings are popping up all over London like weeds. But at least they're not as ugly as the old concrete buildings. And they are all being built for the same bland purpose: a combination of apartments (usually sold overseas as investments, doing little to alleviate the city's housing crisis), offices, shops and restaurants.
Having said this, I greatly approve of one of the plans for Silvertown. This involves buildings which will exhibit goods to be purchased online. Seems a common-sense response to online shopping: acknowledging that many purchase their goods online, but equally that many want to "try before they buy" with electric goods, just as they want to with clothes as well. Waterstones would do well to bear this in mind, as many (myself included) want to see what books are like before they buy them. Although I fear that there is little scope for this with CDs and DVDs, so HMV will need to come up with a new technique if they want to succeed, rather than continue to struggle on. Maybe they should allow customers to listen to samples from tracks on a CD or see trailers of DVDs in-store before they purchase them, although YouTube would already provide this function when shopping online...
Either way, on the highstreet, it seems to be survival of the fittest if they are to compete with large Walmart-esque supermarkets that sell everything relatively cheaply, as well as Amazon.
Having said this, I greatly approve of one of the plans for Silvertown. This involves buildings which will exhibit goods to be purchased online. Seems a common-sense response to online shopping: acknowledging that many purchase their goods online, but equally that many want to "try before they buy" with electric goods, just as they want to with clothes as well. Waterstones would do well to bear this in mind, as many (myself included) want to see what books are like before they buy them. Although I fear that there is little scope for this with CDs and DVDs, so HMV will need to come up with a new technique if they want to succeed, rather than continue to struggle on. Maybe they should allow customers to listen to samples from tracks on a CD or see trailers of DVDs in-store before they purchase them, although YouTube would already provide this function when shopping online...
Either way, on the highstreet, it seems to be survival of the fittest if they are to compete with large Walmart-esque supermarkets that sell everything relatively cheaply, as well as Amazon.
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