FLOODGATES OPEN ON SELF-RULE CAMPAIGNS The number of republican campaigns in Commonwealth countries is growing, reports Maggie Miller, but so is the waiting list to join the Commonwealth. The prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, told Britain's ITV News on Sunday that he wants to hold a referendum on his country becoming a republic. Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced his country would seek to "become an independent" nation — during a visit by Prince William earlier this year, no less. Australia now has a minister in charge of transitioning its constitution to a republican model, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is deftly positioning his cause. The country's parliament is shutting down all week, and the Queen's funeral will be a public holiday: officially that's respectful. In practice it's a gentle reminder that a faraway institution is dictating Australian rhythms. Albanese is also rewriting the history many Australians learned at school: "As prime minister, I'm not in a position to control people's feelings," he told the ABC's Insiders program, but noted: "This nation didn't begin in 1788 (when Britain established a penal colony in what is now Sydney) it goes back some 65,000 years at least. It should be a source of great national pride that we live and share this continent with the oldest continuous civilization and culture on Earth." COLONIALISM AND THE COMMONWEALTH, REVISITED One of the ways the monarchy might stave off successful republican campaigns is by shepherding a frank debate about the impacts of slavery and colonialism. King Charles made a speech in Rwanda earlier this year, while still heir to the throne, during the most recent Commonwealth heads of government meeting. He said that the "time has come" to discuss the impact of slavery and expressed "sorrow" over the practice but stopped short of a formal apology. The Queen never went that far. While she did stand up to Margaret Thatcher over the British prime minister's reluctance to impose sanctions on Apartheid South Africa in the 1980s, as POLITICO editor Saim Saeed points out: " There was no apology, no regret, no shame, no reparation, no moral responsibility or reckoning by Queen Elizabeth II over the crimes that were committed in the crown's name." Judah Grunstein makes the salient point that this is not going to be an easy debate. Queen Elizabeth "was the last living link to the British colonial era" and for many in the U.K., they're grieving not only her death, but also "the loss of national glory that went along with that era." In parallel, "for many (not all) in the postcolonial states that emerged from the empire, it serves as a reminder of the crimes committed." More analysis: CNN | The Guardian This isn't theory; it's money: Britain's already been forced into a $25 million payout to victims of torture and murder by Britain's colonial officials in Kenya during the Queen's reign in the 1950s. If that sort of court ruling happens again under King Charles, we can expect a bigger debate about its meaning. There were other violent suppressions of independence movements in Yemen and Cyprus. Britain also backed Nigeria's military dictatorship in the 1960s — though the Commonwealth is supposed to promote democracy — as it murdered or caused the deaths by famine of a million people in Biafra. Former BBC correspondent and now author Frederick Forsyth recounts the violence here. With the Queen gone, other voices will have to be listened to, and accounted for. If Britain can't do that with its former colonies (and France likewise) then the geopolitical winners could end up being China, Russia and the African Union. All the scenarios mean a world order that doesn't revolve around institutions like the British monarchy or American presidency. What sort of leadership does the Commonwealth need? The Queen was the glue that held the network together, but there is also a lightly resourced secretariat running the ship in London, led by Baroness Patricia Scotland as Commonwealth secretary-general. In another time, it would be tempting to parachute a top-tier and globally recognizable leader like New Zealand's Jacinda Ardern to revive the organization. But as the organization inevitably is forced to examine colonial era issues, a white leader may not be who is called for. KING CHARLES — FACTS YOU DIDN'T SEE IN 'THE CROWN' — The future king studied at Rupert Murdoch 's high school — Geelong Grammar — in rural Australia. He's remembered for his lack of pomp and confiscating cigarettes from younger students, while saving them the disgrace (and physical punishment) of telling the headmaster. Fellow student Jonathan Southey said "we used to hike many tens of miles regardless of the weather — but I never heard him complaining or failing to present himself for any challenge." — Charles is the first British monarch to have earned a university degree: a Bachelor's Degree from Cambridge University. He also earned his Master's from the same university. — He's the author of four books, plays the cello, has been a competitive amateur jockey and speaks Welsh. — The king's preferred cars are an electric Jaguar and an Aston Martin he bought in 1970 that now runs on wine by-products. TRUSSWORLD — BEHIND THE SCENES IN 10 DOWNING STREET: She has handed huge power to the civil servants. One close ally explained: "The good ones will be deeply empowered by her. The civil service are always in the ascendancy with Liz as long as they actually do their job." PUTIN AND XI WELCOME IRAN TO ANTI-WEST CLUB While many of us are busy watching Britain, the Shanghai Cooperation Group that meets this week in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The group already includes India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. In addition to Iran's entry, Turkey, a NATO member, is also considering joining (it's already an SCO "dialogue partner"). Saudi Arabia and Qatar are expected to become dialogue partners this week. By the numbers: SCO has three times the population of NATO, more than double the number of military personnel and more nuclear warheads. Read about Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the Uzbek leader with a reformist bent who is hosting the summit. MODERN SLAVERY — NEW DATA SHOWS 50 MILLION TRAPPED WORLDWIDE: Walk Free, an NGO, and the United Nations' International Labor Organization and International Organization for Migration have released new global estimates of modern slavery. This the first global data set since 2017 and it shows 50 million people are trapped in forced labor or forced marriage. The source data includes interviews from 68 nationally representative forced labor surveys and 75 forced marriage surveys. The big regulatory risk : Supply chains will come under increasing focus as campaigners work to identify who's profiting from modern slavery. Backstory: From Fiona David, a modern slavery expert who helped engineer renewed interest in these problems. CANADA — NEW CONSERVATIVE LEADER: Pierre Poilievre promises to reduce the role of the state and engage in bar-knuckle political fights with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau . When truckers rolled into Ottawa in January as part of an infamous Freedom Convoy, Poilievre recorded a supportive video on a bridge atop a freeway on the outskirts of the city. "Freedom, not fear," he shouted over the honking. "Truckers, not Trudeau." At just 43, he's already a seven-term member of parliament. PERU — FOREIGN MINISTER RESIGNED, ADDING TO PRESIDENTIAL WOES: Peru's new foreign minister Miguel Rodriguez resigned after just a month, after public clashes between the official and leftist President Pedro Castillo. The country is onto its fourth prime minister in little more than a year.
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