PASSAGE 4 – Questions 31-40

The Commonwealth

The Russian leader, Stalin, is supposed to have asked how many divisions the Pope had. Like the Roman Catholic church, the British Commonwealth does not operate in the realms of realpolitik. It is closer, perhaps, to the world of Lewis Carroll than to that of Bismarck.

As an idea, the Commonwealth dates from the year of Queen Elizabeths birth, 1926. It was to be an association of autonomous communities within the Empire, unified in one respect only: by their allegiance to the sovereign as the head of state. Even this requirement was dropped in 1949 when India asked to remain a member of the Commonwealth even though, as a newly-independent republic, it had ended its allegiance to the crown. Still, even today, Elizabeth is Queen not only of the United Kingdom, but of 17 other countries as well.

The Commonwealth has one unifying factor: the Queen as its head. It is noteworthy, if not miraculous, that there has been this continuity, that the monarch of the imperialist nation should be accepted with affection and respect by the newly independent sovereign states. The reason lies in the status the Commonwealth offers, and in the framework it provides for useful work to be done. It is remarkable, for example, that all Commonwealth countries, without exception, gave Britain moral support during the Falklands crisis.

The Commonwealth has seen much disunity as well, and a number of countries have ceased to be members, usually for political reasons. In 1948, Palestine became Israel. In 1949, the Republic of Ireland, neutral during the 39-45 war, also left. In 1972, after war with India, and the creation of Bangladesh, Pakistan also departed. But the most significant departure has been that of South Africa, in 1961.

The key issue of the Commonwealth is, of course, race, and in particular hostility to racism as practised by white people. For the past 15 years the focus of attention has been upon South Africa, especially upon the severing of sporting links with that country. The refusal of the former Thatcher government to impose economic sanctions on the apartheid-ridden country has caused tension not only between Britain and other Commonwealth countries, but also between the Queen and her Prime Minister.

The Queen has to remain above all the issues, all the arguments. That she does so is one of the wonders of modern politics. The very looseness of the Commonwealth may be its greatest virtue, given the number of one-party states, military dictatorships, and personal regimes within it. Each member takes or gives what the realpolitik of its own government requires. Through the Commonwealth, for example, Canada has attained a degree of influence among Third World countries which otherwise would never have been possible. But the Commonwealth is also limited: for military help in a domestic crisis, Grenada had to turn to the United States.

Still, Alice in Wonderland or not, a two-metre high portrait of the Queen does hang outside the entrance to Zimbabwes Senate. An official explained: Shes not there because we love the royal family, but because she is the head of the Commonwealth.