 Harold Schmautz |
 |
Organising an Effective Monarchist Organisation
| |||
| |||||
|
So, maybe a combination of raising money and activating people might be a solution?
I would like to refer to a few examples from European monarchist groups I have visited. We will have a look to France, Portugal and Italy, three Latin countries with very different histories. The birth of their respective republics was about 40 years apart and very different as well. All three forced their royal families into exile. In France and Portugal the bans were lifted after World War II, the Italian republic allowed the return of the two Princes Vittorio Emanuele and Emanuele Filiberto only in 2003. The monarchists in all three countries are split into different groups, sometimes parties. But I am very much impressed by their work. | |||||
| |||||
| France |
I don't want to go into details about who is the legitimate pretender, since this is not our topic today. But I'd like to demonstrate how one of these groups, La Nouvelle Action Royaliste, that supports the Comte de Paris and is therefore in the camp of the Orléanistes, promotes the monarchy.
I first came across the NAR (then called Nouvelle Action Française) in 1974, when its leader Bertrand Renouvin was running for the presidency (Giscard d'Estaing was elected). The French embassy in Bonn gave me his address and I have been in loose contact with the NAR ever since. The NAR is a mixture of a political party and discussion group. The NAR took part in parliamentary and local elections, sometimes on its own, sometimes on another party ticket. Parties fielding candidates get free access to the media in France and their election expenditures are refunded. So, this is a way of raising money and drawing attention to a group. The NAR publishes a bi-monthly, which is available at newsstands. I saw the magazine « royaliste » in many newspaper shops all over France. I don't know the circulation of « royaliste », however, more important than selling some more copies outside Paris is the fact that an outspoken monarchist publication is on sale in newspaper stands. The NAR members are also encouraged to sell the bi-monthly, for example via so-called "vente à cri" (shouting it out). I once took part in a street sale. Just like the "Big Issue" here, "royaliste" is sold in the streets by holding it out offering it to passers-by. We did it in a tourist resort in Britanny and even I could sell some copies. There I had joined a regional branch of the NAR, which is noteworthy, because decentralisation is an important argument for royalists in France, since the centralised system was introduced by the French revolution. Under the monarchy the regions had autonomy rights that were scrapped by the Jacobins. Seeking local and region allies is one of the methods used by the NAR to find acceptance. Royalists in France are not a major political movement (in one recent opinion poll about 16 per cent of the French wanted a monarchy), but unlike Germany the royalists are more in the political mainstream. The NAR wants to join political, economic and cultural discussions. It is a little bit like here in Melbourne, where Trevor and others organise the talks of the PWHCE. The NAR has the so-called "mercredi de la NAR", the NAR's Wednesdays. They are meetings every Wednesday in the group's office in the centre of Paris. Invited are often authors whose books had been published recently and who want to discuss it with the audience. But it could also be a cultural topic. Or politicians from various parties or members of the NAR offer talks - just as we do here. There's a small entrance fee and a meal is offered afterwards. To summarise the example of France I would emphasise: | ||||
| |||||
| Portugal | Portugal has a completely different story to tell. When the carnation revolution abolished a 40 year old dictatorship in 1974 the monarchists rejoiced since they had been in opposition to the regime. They formed a party: Partido Popular Monarquico (PPM - Monarchist People's Party) and until 1980 they sat in every Portuguese government. Their founder Ribeiro Telles had been an opposition candidate in the "elections" under Salazar and Caetano, thus establishing some credentials among the military rulers. The party chairman was always secretary of state in the agricultural ministry, which was due to the PPM's "green" policy. The PPM is not only supporting the agricultural part of the society, but they were the first in Portugal to raise green issues like organic farming, water pollution, wind energy etc.
Only once did the PPM gain seats in the national assembly. That was in 1980 in an alliance with the PSD (Social Democratic Party, which is in fact not social democratic, but conservative) and the CDS (Christian Democrats). At that time the PPM received enough subsidies to publish a monthly called Amanha ("Tomorrow"). When I took part in electoral campaigns in Portugal I was impressed by the PPM's ability to mobilise people. Unfortunately mobilising people to attend a conference or even to campaign with the party flag in the streets didn't mean they could mobilise enough votes in the ballot boxes. The death of some leading members also brought decline. Today the PPM is only a shadow of its former importance. Some members left to join other green movements and parties. As a party the PPM may be finished, but the Duke of Bragança is more popular than ever. And non-party monarchist groups have come up, including a monarchist youth group. To summarise the example of Portugal I would emphasise: | ||||
 | The PPM's flag, the tricorn appeared on all stickers, brochures, ballot papers etc | ||||
| Italy |
The third country I visited several times is Italy. There are several monarchist groups in Italy as well. Many compete with each other, two or three monarchist parties field candidates, while some groups see themselves as being above party lines and encourage their members to join parties and influence them in favour of a monarchy.
Never have I seen so many local branches as in Italy. Every major city has a monarchist group, often with offices. This is certainly the case for the Movimento Monarchico Italiano (MMI), which has the backing of the Crown Prince. The Alleanza Monarchica - (Monarchist Alliance) is more dominant in the North and publishes a monthly that is also available on-line: Italia Reale (Royal Italy). While the Unione Monarchico Italiano (UMI) has a big office in Rome and seems to have good PR work, because whenever the BBC reports on monarchists in Italy, you can be sure Sergio Boschiero, the UMI-president, will be interviewed. But this afternoon we will not talk about their differences. What I liked most in Italy was the kindness that ruled there. It wasn't so much the political atmosphere like in France or Portugal, but I got the impression that the Italian monarchists were friends with each other. In the North Eastern port city of Trieste I was invited to take part in the "Giornata Azzura" (a blue day, blue being the colour of the monarchists - here again you have an immediate identification). It was a day trip, a bus ride into the countryside of Trieste. We visited a small cheese factory, a winery, ate and dined well, talked a lot and just had a wonderful day. Young and old took part. Especially in Italy I realised that the monarchist groups integrate the whole family. Children were always welcome. The social aspect always played an important role in Italy. I don't want to refer to the old cliché about the Italian mamma who ruled the house. But in a way the high percentage of women made the Italian congresses less aggressive and more stylish. Only in Italy have I heard of monarchist sport clubs - and I am not referring to Juventus Torino, whose owner Gianni Agnelli ordered the players to wear a black armband when King Umberto II died in exile. In regional centres the young monarchists like to play football and aren't shy to have a match with the local communist or liberal football club. It sounds very political, but it is not. It is more a question of who buys shirts and shorts. And there are young monarchist musicians who make pop music. I am afraid I cannot tell you anything about the lyrics, but their records were sold by the monarchist organisations, so I think they must have something to do with the monarchy. But even if they just happen to be members of the monarchist groups, I consider it a wonderful idea to use music as a way of transporting monarchist thinking to a part of the population that doesn't usually show much interest in politics. To summarise the example of Italy I would emphasise: So, what could we probably learn from these examples? Should we set up an organisation that runs political rallies, holds discussion sessions and invites its members to go on a sightseeing tour to the countryside while listening to self produced monarchist songs and on Sundays the members all join the sports club on the football field? I doubt that such a monster organisation would have a long life. These examples should only show what others do. Every country must have a monarchist organisation that is meets the needs of the people. But in all countries the lack of money is compensated for by the effort to include as many people as possible in the activities. And this is perhaps something that could be a good example. From my experience in Germany I can tell you that I was very often astonished about the response, when we sent appeals to our members. Not so much financially, although this was also the case once, when we asked for donations specifically for the printing of posters and stickers, but more so when we had a concrete project and needed the assistance of the members. That was the case when we distributed leaflets in some cities to inform passers-by about the German monarchists or when we discussed our new statutes and urged the members to bring their views forward. Of course many people enjoy having the board members doing all the work, but encouraging every single member to become an active part of the group can equalise the disadvantage of not having paid staff members and offices. And it gives the members the feeling, that THEY and especially THEY are needed. And indeed, they are, every single one of them. What I have seen here in Australia so far is a good example for others. I enjoyed last year's conference. The idea of having several 20 minutes talks instead of a two hour lecture as it is still given in Germany is certainly something we will introduce. German monarchists and their critics still talk too much about the past. The republicans think they have subscribed to the future and it should be theirs. An effective organisation should have at least some ideas how the future should look. Don't be on the defensive side only. Politicians react only to demands: So, let them know what you demand (in the future). Do it together, coordination is always useful, when you write to politicians or the media. Let them know that this isn't an isolated nostalgic lunatic, who writes, but only one of a large group. And here we are again with people, human beings. I don't want to use the nasty term "human capital", but the individual monarchist is really the greatest capital we could put against the big money that the other - republican - groups have. Unless you know how to collect donations you have to rely on every single member. 
| ||||
