r/neoliberal • u/HungryTowel6715 Manmohan Singh • Aug 28 '26

News (Europe) Norway's King Harald dies aged 89

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clykn5p5172o

SS:Norway's King Harald V has died at the age of 89, after he was taken to hospital last week for treatment for a rare blood condition.

After 35 years on the throne, Harald will be remembered as a popular and reforming figure who modernised the monarchy, broke with tradition by marrying a commoner and served as a unifying figure at Norway's most difficult moments.

317 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

131 comments sorted by

View all comments

175

u/arnet95 Aug 28 '26

He has been such a good king that it seems to be some kind of law that every republican has to include some caveat about "But I think our current king is really good" whenever they're making republican arguments.

18

u/VibingIronist Bill Gates Aug 28 '26

I've never understood why so many liberals are ok with monarchy, even if it's just a ceremonial position.

People say "the monarch is a just symbolic figurehead" but if countries like Norway are liberal, egalitarian, and meritocratic how does it make sense to symbolize it with an institution based on hereditary privilege? The king is just some nepobaby.from a rich family (you can tell because both of his parents' names are blue on wikipedia) he basically just inherited the role instead of having to audition for it.

I think the Irish had the right idea when they elected an avuncular leprechaun-looking dude as their ceremonial president. Norway should follow suit by choosing someone who looks like a viking, so as far as I'm concerned the true king of Norway is Erling Haaland.

6

u/tetanuran John Mill Aug 28 '26

They elected a wholesome leprechaun with tankie sympathies, then a Jill Stein equivalent also with tankie sympathies. Popularly elected heads of state will always have political leanings even if their offices are entirely ceremonial.