Grenada’s Prime Minister hopes that it will become a republic under his leadership.
Dickon Mitchell, Grenadian prime minister, spoke to Sky News’ Sabah Choudhry about the Commonwealth and the relationship between the island nation of Grenadine with the UK in an interview before the king’s coronation.
When asked whether a Grenadian Republic would exist in his lifetime, Mitchell replied: “I think so.”
The 45-year old prime minister has been in power for 10 months and said that he “hopes” this will happen under his leadership. However, he ruled out any constitutional changes before 2024.
He said that economic, social, and health issues were more pressing at the moment.
Jamaica announced that it would accelerate its plans for becoming a republic, as early as next year. Commonwealth countries are taking part in the King’s coronation this weekend.
Mitchell stated that Jamaicans and their government would make the final decision.
“Jamaica has a long history. Jamaicans, like the UK, are proud and nationalistic. “I think that they will make the right decision, if given the chance.”
Prime Minister said that the Grenadians were divided on republicanism. Some are “apathetic” because they don’t believe it would “make a change” in their everyday lives.
He added, however, that “education” is important for Grenada to move towards autonomy.
He said: “If we are convinced by the public that this is the right thing to do, I believe we will see a lot of energy and we will move in that direction.”
Prime Minister Johnston stressed that he would still want to maintain good relations with the UK, even if Grenada were to become a republic.
In 2021, Barbados officially became a republic, after a transition from a parliamentary constitution monarchy with the late Queen at its head.
Mr Mitchell was not happy with the replacement of Queen Elizabeth II by Barbados – an appointed prime minister and a ceremonial state head.
He said he preferred the idea of a single elected leader. “You have the ceremonial head-of-state, the governor general who represents the monarch essentially, and you then have a Prime Minister.”
It’s not cheap. The cost of government is important if you are a developing country. If you have a too expensive government, you are wasting resources that could be used to improve the standard of living of citizens, or for health care and education.
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The Royals and the Caribbean
Recently, the royals had strained relations with Caribbean nations.
During their Caribbean tour last year, Edward and Sophie, the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II, were greeted with protests over colonialism. The couple cancelled their trip to Grenada even before the tour began.
Prince William had condemned slavery in Jamaica a month earlier, but he did not apologize.
The Grenadian Prime Minister said that it is always troubling why an apology appears to be such a problem.
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