Would the Monarchy save Libya?

General Franco, who was not a fool, knew that the only peaceful solution that would avoid a new confrontation between Spaniards was the restoration of the monarchy. And so it was, the monarchy was reinstituted in the figure of Juan Carlos de Borbón and was officially restored after the abdication of his father, Don Juan de Borbón, on 14 May 1977. Since then and during the reign of King Juan Carlos, Spain has become a dynamic fully-fledged democracy with an influential voice on the world stage. Since his abdication, his son King Felipe VI continues his extraordinary legacy.

?Cambodia followed the Spanish example and after the fall of the communist regime, restored King Norodom Sihanouk to the throne. His son, King Norodom Shamoni, now reigns.?Bulgaria and Romania invited their kings back after the fall of the Iron Curtain, but although both King Simeon of Bulgaria and the late King Michael of Romania have played a vital role in helping their countries transition to democracy, the institution has yet to be restored despite a growing number of the population believing that the monarchy might be the only solution against rampant corruption.

?The reality is that in countries that had a monarchical tradition or countries with populations divided along tribal lines, the Crown is the only viable solution to prevent savage warfare by the tribal population.

?In the case of Afghanistan, King Zahir Shah reigned for forty years, bringing his country (a tribal society) a period of surprising political and social stability. Tragically, he was deposed in 1973 after 40 years on the throne. After the fall of the monarchy, Afghanistan fell victim to a Marxist coup, the invasion of the Soviet Union, civil war and, finally, the disaster of the Taliban. Following the attacks of 11 September 2001, the apparent defeat of the Taliban by US forces and their allies, and the formation of an interim Afghan government, the king was seen as the only Afghan capable of presiding over his country's return to representative democracy as he was the only individual respected by all tribal leaders. Unfortunately, the US did not support the monarchical restoration so the King stepped aside to allow Hamid Karzai to go from chairman of the transitional administration to interim president. King Zahir Shah was given the title of "father of the nation". The new constitution of 2004 abolished the monarchy, and Karzai won that year's presidential election. Since then, Afghanistan has lived in perpetual chaos and political instability and now after 20 years of foreign intervention and trillions of US spent, the Taliban are back in power!

?Ethiopia, which has suffered years of instability since the overthrow of Emperor Haile Selassie in 1973, has for the first time a prime minister with high levels of popularity: Abiy Ahmed Ali, who has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The current prime minister has recognised the need to reconnect with the glorious imperial past and has begun the restoration of the imperial palaces and not to forget the country's past by maintaining a cordial relationship with various members of the dynasty.

An estimated 2.2 million people have been forced from their homes and thousands have been killed in the civil war that broke out in Ethiopia last November when government troops entered Mekelle, the capital of the Tigray region. The monarchy could be the solution as the figure of the Emperor would be respected by all sides as an arbitrator and the father of all Ethiopians.

Thanks to the extraordinary work of the Crown Council chaired from Washington by H.I.H. Prince Ermias Saleh Selassie from Washington and the humanitarian work it carries out within the country, there is an increasingly strong current advocating the restoration of a constitutional monarchy similar to the British one where the Prime Minister would retain all legislative power. There is no doubt that the restoration of the world's oldest dynasty with more than four millennia of history would only bring benefits to this great Christian nation.

A man in Bengazi with the Royal Flag during the revolution against Ghaddafi?

Libya is another country that has been suffering a bloody civil war since the fall of General Ghaddafi's regime in 2011. The current intra-Libyan violent conflicts and ferocious rivalries have crippled the country. There is optimism now among the diplomatic and business communities over Libya’s future since the formation of the GNU. Such optimism is based on UN-sponsored talks breaking the political impasse of the past seven years and the ongoing October 2020 ceasefire between the eastern-based self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) and armed groups aligned with the former GNA in north-western Libya. Finally, there is a date set for presidential and parliamentary elections for the 24th of December.

This is?probably the last opportunity for peace and prosperity in the country. If it is not successful, Libya may head to another civil war, this time ending in the country’s final fragmentation, flinging open the gates for a flood of terrorists into Libya and illegal immigrants to Europe. In other words, the potential for another Afghanistan is very real.

H.M King Idris I of the United Kingdom of Libya?

The blame for Libya’s predicament lies primarily with the failure of the US, along with its allies, to understand Libya’s history, beliefs and current idiosyncrasies. But now there is renewed hope of a solution. Such optimism led many European and neighbouring countries to either reopen their embassies in Tripoli or pledge to reopen them soon and businesses to consider re-entering the country or expanding their presence there but the big question is how to unite Libyans, in all their diversity, under a common banner so that the country can begin to move towards as stable society under the rule of law. The only viable solution so far seems to be a proposed constitutional monarchy put forward by former foreign minister Mohamed Abdel Aziz. The idea of establishing a monarchy with the Al-Senussi dynasty, he said, would be a “political umbrella”, which would serve as a “symbol of unity for the nation.”

H. M King Idris I before the Gaddafi revolution that overthrew democracy and the monarchy

Almost three-quarters of a century ago, following the defeat of the Axis forces in Libya during World War II, the international community was split on how to deal with Libya. Interestingly, the same major international players currently present on the scene were already there in the 1940s. The United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy were all competing for some amount of presence in the country. Turkey, now heavily involved in Libya, was not an influence, but only after several centuries of Ottoman domination of Libya, which ended with its surrender of the country to Italy in 1912.

H.M King Idris I in 1965. He was also a religious leader and an Islamic scholar.

Then as today, the stability of any of the three Libyan territories was dependent on their unity. Despite vast expanses of desert separating them, the three territories are closer to each other than to any neighbouring region. They have far too much connecting them demographically and culturally?to be treated as separate entities and those days the solution was found with Emir Idris Al-Senussi. As Emir of Cyrenaica, he garnered the allegiance of the people of Tripolitania in 1920 and was the only national figure who enjoyed both nationwide consensus and international confidence. Had it not been for King?Idris, who was the right man at the right time, and the convergence between national and international interests, modern Libya would have never been born as a nation. The founding fathers of Libya were wise and put the interests of their fellow men before their own personal ones. They were conscious that none of the three provinces could survive apart from each other and the eighteen years that followed were an era of unity, stability, and prosperity, especially when compared to the?Ghaddafi era after he overthrew the monarchy.

Libya’s independence in 1951 was one of those rare examples of an auspicious confluence of national and international concerns and interests. The needs of a poor, occupied country for independence, economic support, stability, and unity were reconciled with the interests of the international powers.

The fact that the flag that united Libyans in their revolution against Ghaddafi was that of the 1st Kingdom of Libya is very significant and should be noted by all interested parties. The next presidential elections would benefit from a member of the Al-Senussi family becoming a candidate. A prominent member of the Royal Family that comes to mind and is a seasoned politician respected worldwide, is Prince Idris Al-Senussi. He is a cousin of Prince Mohammed Al-Senussi, the Crown Prince of Libya and is probably the best possible candidate to preside over the monumental task to reconcile and save Libya from its destruction as a sovereign nation.

H.R.H Prince Idris Al-Senussi, an ideal presidential candidate

?Libyans are fed up with the long civil war of the post-Ghaddafi era and the meddling of foreign powers in the internal affairs of the country.?An Al-Senussi candidate can become a unifying force above political strive and lead the Libyan nation to the peace and prosperity that they so much aspire to. He can turn?Libya into a model of tolerance, as well as a synthesis of the best of Islamic and modern political thought.

In the times of the reign of King Idris, the 1951 Constitution was drafted under the auspices of the UN and was seen to include significant mechanisms for the protection of human rights. The Magna Carta established an institutional apparatus that promoted transparency and safeguards against antidemocratic power accumulation. It envisioned mechanisms to guarantee accountability in the exercise of public functions and equality of all Libyan citizens before the law. At the time it was produced, it was received as a positive and forward-thinking model of good governance and balance of powers for the region.

Since Ghaddafi’s coup d’Etat, Libya has been fragmented and divided across the fabric of society. An Al-Senussi candidate?as?an apolitical figure, exempt from party loyalties can play a crucial role in disseminating ideas of peace, inclusion, trust, compromise and become an arbitrator, ensure the protection of the minorities, attract international investment, boost growth, increase living standards and form a government of national reconciliation.

A young man carrying the photograph of King Idris. The youth born after the 1969 revolution that saw the overthrow of the monarch now look to the Crown for hope in the resolution of Libya's severe problems and civil strife.

If this is achieved it will be up to the Libyans once they live in peace to decide if they want to create the II Kingdom of Libya without any foreign interference. We must not forget?that after failing to establish a Western-style democracy in Iraq, it is fair to suggest that the US might have thought twice before applying a similar recipe elsewhere in the Middle East. Iraq would not be in the state of chaos it finds itself in if the Hashemite monarchy had been restored.

In the 21st century, the monarchical institution, more than ever, maybe the only effective solution to resolve armed conflicts resulting from the vicissitudes of politics, given that the Crown stands above these vicissitudes and acts as a nexus between all the different political currents. Politically, it would be difficult for the United States to support a political system not based on Washington's idealised concept of democracy, but it is hard to deny that the idea has merit. Perhaps it is time for the United States to recognise reality and give the constitutional monarchy a chance.?

Libya is at its final crossroad. May the elections be the solution and the preamble to peace and prosperity for the war torn country.