checkmate

In this cartoon, February 1998, Bill Leak exposed the way "Heeez Back!" (as written by Doug Anderson), or the way John Howard snookered a hapless (still hapless apparently...) Malcolm Turnbull in the game of Royals versus the Republic on the political chessboard. It should have been a given that this fair and sunny (too sunny and unfair sometimes) country became a republic on 1/1/2001. Actually, as I have expressed many times before, it is my belief (I have no clue) that Turnbull snookered himself with the rest of the "republicans elites" by insisting on "his" model of a presidential appointment by government decree.

Of course, the public of unwashed, deplorables and thong-wearing yobos, us, did not like Turnbull's republican elitism and preferred the democratically election of Kylie Minogue or Johnny Farnham as president.

So, Lazarus Howard knew that the republican movement was dead in the water by having the referendum question asking us to either carry on with the unruly Royals or go with the Turnbull's noble choice... BOOM. The rest is history as they say. The Aussie Republic missed the boat and no government since has had the guts to pop the question again... 

The Royal saga is a boon for the TV shows and the Aussie magazines who have not got enough stories to feed us straw with. We're ravenous about fairies and princesses kissing frogs — or the reverse as it may be.

Seriously, the death of the Duke should give us the impetuous momentum to reconsider our political system, but we're suckers for a new TV show that is going to tell us how tall was that man, the Duke — possibly more than 3.75 metres (or more than 12 feet)...

So with Harry and Willie separated by a cousin at the funeral, please enjoy the Royal stench, because you're going to get a lot more of it...

Note, my view of Bill Leak is that he was a great cartoonist — until he fell on his head and had to work for the "eveel empire" of Uncle Rupe... The cartoon above came from his earlier period.

 See also:

London: Prince William and Prince Harry will be kept apart during Prince Philip’s funeral, in a fresh display of the deep rift between the brothers.

Buckingham Palace on Thursday released more details about the Duke of Edinburgh’s farewell, including confirmation the Queen will have to wear a face mask during the 50-minute service and sit two metres apart from other mourners.

https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/harry-and-william-to-be-kept-physically-separated-at-prince-philip-s-funeral-20210415-p57jo2.html

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