SVT 'cheering on the monarchy'

I guess I'm confused that the republicans think that SVT was impartial to begin with, and furthermore, citing the element of thier funding from the state as a reason to be even more impartial. Ha.

Not the best logic, RF

@GFF: SVT isn't funded by the state...

Who funds SVT? Why is there still a monarchy in Sweden? Do they actually do anything for the government?

They collect money from our taxes, correct? @mikmak? Or do they get a salary for waving?

So a Tax payer funded television station is covering a Tax payer funded wedding of the Tax payers monarchy...... The problem is???

Republicans... now there is a waste of taxpayers money.

How hard is this to look up guys? Really?

http://tinyurl.com/yletbp8

It's not a tax. People who own a tv or a device that can recieve tv broadcasts has to pay a fee. You don't have to pay if you don't own such a device (or lie and say that you don't have one).

funny how they accuse svt of "of ditching its principles of objectivity" considering it's a leftist propaganda machine...

We had this dung thirty years ago with the "people's princess" and so ....

Better get used to insufferable creeps crawling out and saying the most ridiculous sycophantic rubbish. I recommend shutting your eyes taking a long drink of the best malt you can buy and emigrating for about five years that's when the divorce will be through.

And The Local is clearly cheering on the Swedish Republican Association. I have never heard of them - I didn't even realise we had one. Everyone I know likes the monarchy and it makes perfect sense for SVT to cover their wedding. :)

Kaether has a point. Everyone I know likes the monarchy too. Where does the "considerable proportion of the Swedish public in favour of a republic" hide? There's a fair share of vocal republicans in these forums, and in politics, but the Svenssons of "middle Sweden" seems to be getting their blue and yellow flags ready. Is the Swedish Republican Association absolutely sure of its statistics? I suppose we shall see on 19 June. If everyone stays at home, and their flagpoles are empty, then the Republicans will be right. If there are flags flying the length and breadth of Sweden, and millions of well wishers gather on the streets of Stockholm, then the Republicans will be wrong. If they are wrong, will they apologise for misinforming us us about such an important issue?

I don't think that it's up to us foreign born to criticize Swedish monarchy. Sweden has a Monarchy because the Swedish people want it that way. The opinion of the rest of the world is totally irrelevant.

Now if you live and work here and pay taxes and object to them being used to support the monarchy in any way, the solution is simple: move to a country that doesn't have one.

If you don t believe the divine right of kings it is hard to understand why a nation needs a royal family. It is something religious, and I understand a lot of Swedish don t know their God, so they think they are atheists, ergo they have a real problem to understand the necessity of having a king representing the State.

It still remains to their understanding as a big part of Swedish political tradition, and so Sweden don t have the bad luck to hear presidents showing off at any election, and telling lies all the time in order to be loved by the people.

Everyone will be cheering. Swedes have a hankering to do be in huddled masses following what they perceive as being popular. They love the to have a blood sucking "superior" family leaching of the people with the excuse of being good for tourism.

Kaethar and Kevin Harris,

Stop with this "everyone I know likes the monarchy" rubbish. It's not true.

Yes I'm a foreigner (Aussie) but live with a Swede and work with many Swedes. Most of them can't stand the monarchy and are embarrassed that a so-called democracy like Sweden has one. What annoys them is that the monarchy gets a free ride in Sweden in the media compared to other countries they've visited. They have a point too. If the Swedish media did their job and scrutinised the monarchy, they would be shown up to be a waste of space, like all royals around the world. Even "your friends" would see the light.

The money we pay for radiotjänst is a Tax. It is just like the road taxes you pay if you have a car. The difference is that you can take your car "off the road" and stop paying the tax, but if you pack up your TV an radios an put them in the storeroom you still have to pay. If it was not a tax there would be a opt-out if you have a cable package excluding STV or only use it to watch dvd's.

As for the Monachy people should never underestimate the tourist dollar it brings in. I am pretty sure the British Monachy pays it's way from all the grey haired brigade tourisim the Queen generates. Sweden needs to milk this wedding for all it can even just to remind American retirees that we have royalty too.

Doesnt it seem like age is falling rapidly on stumpy Madelaine? THE GRADY TWINs

I think people SHOULD underestimate the tourist dollar the monarchy brings in. It's one of the great untruths peddled out by British/other monarchy enthusiasts (very sad people indeed) that has been proved to have no grounding and isn't used much anymore anywhere else but over here in Sweden the "monarchies are good for tourists" myth is bleated all the time. Do you really think there would be less toursits visiting the buildings of Stockholm without a monarchy that know one has heard of? Ridiculous, it really holds no water that old chestnut.

Even if it was good for tourism it isn't the point: Inherited priviledge is undemocratic and from the dark ages. If you are an apologist for the monarchy you are a believer in these unacceptable things and I, as a non-swede but believer that Sweden has lead the way for many years on important world issues related to fairness, finds it astounding there are any royal apologists here at all.

Sahlin raps Malmö mayor over Jew comments: I think the SD share part of the responsibility for the increased attacks against Jews in Sweden.

@Angusthefirst

What is the opinion of Australian people about monarchy there, in your country, at the last referendum?

Does Australia has a president as chief of state?

C mon, you aussie are monarchist, BY THE WILL OF YOUR PEOPLE!

Knowing that, please, don t talk about other country monarchism. :)

Alex Coman,

You obviously know very little about Australian politics. This referendum you are referring to was widely known in Australia and the world as a farce due to the process being interferred with by a sitting monarchist PM (John Howard) in a number of ways and the subsequent splitting, due to this, of the republican vote. If your intelligence can stand it, look it up, yu'll see why experts in the field of elections say it is a way NOT to run a referendum.

"THE WILL OF MY PEOPELE" as you so subtly put it, was not allowed to shine through in this case in a majority republican country like mine.

As a Swedish citizen I am welcome to comment on this country's monarchy thank you very much as my taxes are paying for this bunch of back-slicks, so fawned over by many of you Swedes, to do whatever it is they do.

@Angusthefirst

I didn t know Australia has the same way of doing politics as Uzbekistan or Belarus. I thought your country has a good politic system and put the will of the people first.

Ok, was not a referendum, maybe it counts only as a poll, but, still, there s a lot of monarchy lovers in your country. Is not a majority? Nobody knows, it was just a farce, like they did in Venezuela. But still there s a lot of them. Can you deny this? Can you? I think not. :)

You, XIX century progressistes, you are so funny!

About my intelligence, man...

What was the last time you have been tested with Stanford Binet test?

"My taxes are paying for this bunch of back-slicks, so fawned over by many of you Swedes, to do whatever it is they do" "Stand up, people!"

Man , you re calling for revolucion, you, big Guevara !

Alex Coman,

Referendums/elections can be influenced by politicians in any society, even an established democracy. Even conservative leaders know it is inevitable Australia will become a republic, it is an undisputed fact that the country is majority republican. Without political interference from Howard and a splitting of the republican vote because of this (using old British divide and rule tactics) we'd already be a republic.

I call for change though referendum, not revolution Mr Stanford Binet (how embarrassing to bring that up). Many countries have gotten rid of their monarchies peacefully. Doesn't make them radical, just means that many of their citizens, unlke you, find the concept of looking up to an aristocracy that has done nothing to earn it appalling and campaign for change. Why do you feel the need to look up to them? Inferiority issues at play?

Why don't you go back back in time to the US in the 50's and join up with Joseph McCarthy, then anyone who brings up something different to you can automatically be labelled "commie." For such an obviously intelligent man as yourself Mr Stanford Binet, I thought you could do better than old left/right sterotypes in a debate.

@Angusthefirst

"Many countries have gotten rid of their monarchies peacefully." Many?????????

Monarchy is an important part of European political traditions. I find president elections pageantry disgraceful. Before elections poetry, after elections... They try to lie all the people, all the time. Maybe in your ideal world things are different. For us, humans, things are not what you think.

Give me a King anyday. I'd rather give my loyalty to a family who has governed a country for centuaries than some tacky politician anyday.

God save the King!

Mr Stanford Binet,

Any country that has become a republic in more recent times has done so peacefully through the ballot-box and constitutional reform. If Sweden, Australia, etc were to do so that is how it would happen. Unfortunately, in the past monarchies had treated their subjects so poorly that the people had to fight to get them out. Thankfully there are other ways now to affect change. And it is a bit rich of you to accuse Presidential elections of "pagaentry." For a start there are a variety of Presidential systems from the US (where I'll give you there is pagaentry) to Ireland where the President is elected with minimum fuss and little power thereafter.

Tim 2346, thank god for you that the Swedish parliament lessened power that monarchs have here. In countries such as Sweden, the people and governments that you seem to have so little faith in, curtailed power that the monarchy has meaning that a dyslexic simpleton like the Swedish king can not do too much damage.Otherwise this family that you look up to and give your loyalty to blindly would actually have the chance to ruin the country. I and anyone with a brain would take a meritocrously elected "tacky politician" over a dyslexic born-to-rule blue-blood like the Swedish knugen anyday.

@ white Australia subject, the angus

Any country that has become a republic in more recent times...bla bla bla. Is reality hurting you so much? Give me two of these country, in Evropa.

I told you that referendum shows there s a lot of Australians, I said not a majority, but a lot of, who don t want a republican regime. You say all people don t want a monarchy...

"Otherwise this family that you look up to and give your loyalty to blindly would actually have the chance to ruin the country. I and anyone with a brain would take a meritocrously elected "tacky politician" over a dyslexic born-to-rule blue-blood like the Swedish knugen anyday." Man, you have an emotional problem.

Too much hate, no reason.

Do you really know that this royal family can could ruin the country??? Do you??? You know it all, Erasmus, don t you?

"Anyone with a brain"!!! You insult people way too easy to be taken seriously.

About dyslexia, boy, read:" Dyslexia is diagnosed in people of all levels of intelligence".Wikipedia, for beginners. Please don t insult dyslexic people with your...inability to learn.

You insulted one of the oldest monarchy in Europe, one of the much respected royal family in the world. For no reason, just out of your emotional problems.

And somehow, yes, we all look up to some group of people, royal family or not, but somehow above us. Or there s nobody above you, Einstein? Do you ever heard about genetics? Born to rule blue blood could be true, you know? I don t want to insult those with Asperger syndrome, but man, consider this: why don t you talk to a psychologist about your problems? Some with Asperger syndrome are unable to have socially interactions. Or maybe there s some alcoholism/drug abuse symptoms here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_of_Romania

The link is about His Majesty Michael I King of the Romanians. Although he had some speech and language problems he literally saved the life of millions. Read, is about one shy, lonely boy, who could t speak proper, but who saved Romania. And lives of God knows how many allied troops. He won against the fight against nazism in Balkans, and was a great fighter against communism too.

Because I know the King and his ancestors (and I know some things about genetics), YES, I want his daughter to become Queen or my country. Not those clowns who were and will be presidents. Sorry about my english, we, here, speak another language.

No, I say a majority don't want a monarchy in Oz, not all.

Dyslexia is just one of his problems, lack of qualifications, and the fact that my tax money goes to him are some of the others. I think it is more than an educated guess that giving the bloke any power would be dangerous if he can't even spell his own name.

Pointing out the monarchies and indeed monarchs weak points is not "insulting them." You're just used to living in the Swedish bubble where this doesn't happen. Telling the truth is not an insult, stop putting your precious royals on such a pedestal, they're only human.

It's good to look up to people, glad you mentioned Einstein, he's definitely one to look up to, couldn't agree more Mr Stanford Binet. Maybe we should be looking up to you? If you are as smart as you say you are I'd gladly look up to you as head of state over the knugen. I'm serious.

Bringing up one apparently "good" royal doesn't mean the system of monarchy is good to. That's like bringing up a link to a "good" president and me saying "Look that proves that the Presidential system is best." Poor logic and doesn't prove anything.

And you lose all credibility with your line "born to rule blood could be true you know?" You could have worked with the eugenics section of the nazi party with views like that.

Just accept that people can criticise the monarchy and monarchs. They are human, they are not above criticism. It's about time they were scrutinised more. You seem like a bit of a right-wing type, one of your probable heroes Rupert Murdoch, encouraged his papers to show the real side of the Royals in Britain. It showed them to be certainly not the type of people that anyone should look up to. The same would happen here if your sorry media would show everyone what your beloved royals were really like.

I find it ironic that one can be criticised for arguing that positions of power in society should go to those best suited and not by those born into a certain family by someone whose main argument is "Born to rule blue blood could be true, you know?" It would be funny if it wasn't so sad....

@Angustheonlyone

I think the problem is here: "the fact that my tax money goes to him are some of the problems". No argue here, but say that first. Leave all that emotional leftist nonsense.

"If you are as smart as you say" that s not me, I NEVER SAID ANYTHING ABOUT. Too much poetry in your heart.

"You seem like a bit of a right-wing type". Well, I think I am. I m a little fat too. How do you want me to be, to please you? A 68 Gauchist, like you? Ok, you are funny to look at, but please, accept us, the majority.The Humans. Klingonians doesn t count.

I rest my case here.

Nice debating with you Stanford Binet. I was honest when I said you would make a better head of state than the knugen too!

Seems your case is not hopeless,at least you need the head of state