Will Libya Return to Its Monarchy After Gaddafi's Fall?

[Lostlover]

They have a crown prince. His name is Mohammed El Senussi and he's trying to return to Libya to be king. I'm curious if people here think the Libyans fighting off Gaddafi would accept a monarchy or a "constitutional" monarchy?

Doesn't it seem backwards for Libyans to overthrow Gaddafi only to put a king in place?

Here is a photo of one young Libyan during the current uprisings against Gaddafi with a framed picture of the crown prince who is out of the country.

By the way, Aghanistan has a king too. And he's still in exile. Afghans and Libyans have both rejected this practice. The Afghan King, Ahmad Shah Khan, currently lives in Virginia.

 

[BostonPirate]

what little hidden agenda concerning royalty do you have up your sleeve this time?

 

[Lostlover]

what little hidden agenda concerning royalty do you have up your sleeve this time?

No agenda. It's called consistency. Libyans are fighting for freedom and won't embrace their king (anybody here willing to put money on it?). Yet, you have people here who think you can have a king (or queen) and democracy at the same time.

One Canadian poster even said that monarchies should be abolished, yet he always comes in my threads to lick his wounds. We agree, right? Why the hurt feelings? And name calling?

But put yourself in the shoes of the average Libyan. Gaddafi's government is on the rocks, holed up in Tripoli. And there's the possibility that another unelected man could take power. Why would you fight on then?

 

[rareboy]

To lick his wombs????????????????????????????????

WTF?

Isn't it a little early for the Crown Royal on the rocks?

 

[unloadonme]

I'm sure Lostlover will be over the moon to hear that there are pretenders to many unoccupied thrones. Besides Afghanistan and Libya there are:

France
Germany
Austria-Hungary
Romania
Bulgaria
Portugal
Albania
Yugoslavia
Russia
Greece
Italy

and probably several more I've forgotten about. Most of these countries could hardly be in a worse state today with constitutional monarchies than they are already.

 

[Lostlover]

I'm sure Lostlover will be over the moon to hear that there are pretenders to many unoccupied thrones. Besides Afghanistan and Libya there are:

France
Germany
Austria-Hungary
Romania
Bulgaria
Portugal
Albania
Yugoslavia
Russia
Greece
Italy

and probably several more I've forgotten about. Most of these countries could hardly be in a worse state today with constitutional monarchies than they are already.

All those states are pretty much democratic outside of Russia. So, the comparison doesn't hold, unless you're comparing Gaddafi's Libya to Italy? LOL.

Would you mind answering the poll? Or is it too inconvenient of an answer?

 

[unloadonme]

And there's the possibility that another unelected man could take power.

Constitutional monarchs don't take or hold power. They're figureheads; little more. The elected heads of government have the power.

 

[Lostlover]

Constitutional monarchs don't take or hold power. They're figureheads; little more. The elected heads of government have the power.

Will you answer the poll? LMAO.

 

[BostonPirate]

I am not interested in answering the poll because it is A) public, and B) designed to further an argument that has nothing to do with the question asked.

You can judge for yourself how fed up people are with this by exactly how many people DO answer your poll.

Good luck, buddy.

 

[unloadonme]

All those states are pretty much democratic outside of Russia. So, the comparison doesn't hold, unless you're comparing Gaddafi's Libya to Italy? LOL.

Would you mind answering the poll? Or is it too inconvenient of an answer?

No, I wasn't comparing Libya with Italy.

The poll is flawed and I can't answer it. I don't know whether the Libyans would welcome a restored monarchy or not, but I do know that they've not exactly embraced democracy either.

 

[Lostlover]

I am not interested in answering the poll because it is A) public, and B) designed to further an argument that has nothing to do with the question asked.

You can judge for yourself how fed up people are with this by exactly how many people DO answer your poll.

Good luck, buddy.

They're not fed up if they don't answer the poll, they're just lacking testosterone.

Please answer the poll.

What's wrong with a public poll, by the way? I'm not asking for your social security number.

 

[Lostlover]

No, I wasn't comparing Libya with Italy.

The poll is flawed and I can't answer it. I don't know whether the Libyans would welcome a restored monarchy or not, but I do know that they've not exactly embraced democracy either.

LMAO. Done responding to you.

 

[BostonPirate]

They're not fed up if they don't answer the poll, they're just lacking testosterone.

Please answer the poll.

What's wrong with a public poll, by the way? I'm not asking for your social security number.

disinterest is not cowardice, its boredom. This goes all the way back to that whole australia thing.

The thing thats wrong with this public poll is that you have shown yourself to hold a grudge on this topic, and people just don't want to re argue it over and over again. Putting their name out there for you will draw them into that mess.

I'm sure you will find someone that will participate. I am just suggesting you use this as a tool for yourself, to gauge how dead this horse is, and how much more you want to beat it.

as always, you are free to do whatever is within the rules.

others are also free to not participate.

I like your other posts on other topics, but this one gets you SO heated its not worth it.

like I said, good luck. and with that I will leave you to your thread.

 

[winterknight]

Word of advice

LL is like a dog with a bone.

Probably best if it's just ignored.

 

[rareboy]

Licking their Wombs??????????????????????

No matter that it got corrected.....this will always remain as one of my absolute favourite LL malapropisms.

I'm still laughing.

 

[Lostlover]

Word of advice

LL is like a dog with a bone.

Probably best if it's just ignored.

Care to answer it? Or is the truth ugly? You have to admit with that there's irony in that the uk pushed us into the Libya conflict and yet libyans would probably never ever accept a "constitutional" ( ) monarchy.

The usual crowd is nowhere to be found. MIA.

 

[rareboy]

No. No one is MIA.

they just can't be bothered with such a ridiculous and meaningless poll.

 

[jayoTN]

A couple of points...the young Libyan holding a picture is not holding a picture of Crown Prince Mohammed El Senussi, but instead one of his great uncle, the deposed (and deceased) King Idris I. The Crown Prince is only 48 years old, and the picture appears to be of someone beyond that age.

As someone already pointed out, Libyans have not exactly embraced democracy...in fairness, they've never lived under democracy. In fact, most Libyans have only lived under Gadhafi's rule. Only those Libyans who are in their 50s or older can remember the monarchy. Perhaps there is a feeling of "we were better off under a king than a tyrant" as opposed to a sense of going "backward" toward a monarchy.

Just a note of clarification, Afghanistan doesn't have a king...Ahmad Shah Khan, despite being 76, he has never actually ruled (like Libya's Crown Prince Mohammed), unlike Khan's father Mohammed Zahir Shah, who actually did rule (and was apparently much loved by the Afghan people). Also, I don't think that Mohammed El Senussi is "trying to return to Libya to be king", as he has voiced support for the rebel's transitional council and de facto government.

Maybe Mohammed El Senussi would want to have a larger role in shaping a post-Gadhafi Libya and would prefer to be head of government (i.e. prime minister) similar to how the last reigning king of Bulgaria, Simeon, later was elected prime minister of that country. El Senussi may opt to form a political party and contest democratic elections to a future parliament as opposed to reigning as king...or seek election as a figure-head president (if Libya opts for a parliamentary style of government as opposed to a presidential republic).

Ultimately, it's not up to me whether or not Libya becomes a presidential republic, parliamentary republic, or a constitutional monarchy. That decision rests with the people of Libya. If they want a monarchy, let them choose a king (since Mohammed El Senussi has to contend with a rival claim made by King Idris's step-great nephew Idris bin Abdullah). If they want a president or a prime minister - or both - let them elect one.

 

[LittleDove]

It doesn't really matter what my opinion might be on the subject. Since I'm not a Libyan, any opinion I may have is pretty much moot. It's their business, not mine.

However, if you're looking for frivolous enterprises to waste your time with, you could go harass those persons who were declared heirs to the throne of England by Act of Parliament back in the reign of Edward IV. Their claim is still valid under that particular act, and as far as I know, most of them aren't doing much at the moment, and perhaps might welcome a little attention. If that's not esoteric enough for you, you could delve into the heirs of the defunct Kingdom of Jerusalem, and find some others to annoy. Or if real obscurity is your bag, it's probable, although possibly not provable that there are still heirs living to the Lagid throne of Egypt, through the various descendants of Cleopatra VII ... and since her descendants encompass a veritable raft of former kingdoms from Mauritania to the hereditary prince-priests of Emessa to Palmyra to Cappadocia and Cilicia and Armenia, not to mention the possible detour into the Herodian Kingdom of Judea, bringing in of necessity the Hasmonean Kings of Israel along with the family of the Jewish High Priests ... well, hey, you could offend whole boatloads of people, ranging from the Atlantic seaboard of North Africa eastward into the Caucasus, setting the Middle East in flames on your journey. Have at it.

 

[Kulindahr]

The question is a good one, but the poll is about as useful as blindfolded fingerpainting.


There are a lot of Libyans hauling around royal flags as they oppose Qaddafi. I don't know what the current heir has to say about the whole business, but I would guess he's not interested in being an autocrat. If he's into a limited monarchy, he could well be a useful person to pull things together. And if he took up where the monarchy left off, with the intent of transforming it into a rights-based democratic republic, with or without a monarchy, it could provide a feeling of continuity that would be beneficial for stability.

Will the Libyan people go that way? I think they're too focused on the present for any outsider to make a decent guess. But I would guess that they would reject, as I do, the lie in the poll: that democracy is incompatible with monarchy. I truly doubt that they will bow down and worship at the altar of mob rule that the OP drools over.