Analyse af Peter Obornes artikel 'A royal salute to the Commonwealth'

This paper will be analyses and comment on the article A royal salute to the Commonwealth by Peter Oborne, with a focus on his argumentation and the role of the Commonwealth as presented in the article. In Peter Oborne’s article A royal salute to the Commonwealth, he reflects on the Commonwealth and how it has developed through time.

Peter Oborne focuses on this so called invisible strength of the Commonwealth. He uses an example of the Duke and Duchess of Cambrigde’s visit to Canada, where they were met by people, who had been waiting for several hours just to see them walk past. Peter Oborne uses this example to show how much of an impact the countries in the Commonwealth have on each other and how strong their relationship is. P. Oborne brings Tony Blair, the prime minister for New Labour, into the discussion, when he mentions Blair’s critical angle on the Commonwealth. Peter Oborne directly writes: “Tony Blair, for example, never took the Commonwealth Conference very seriously. This was because the Commonwealth never fitted into New Labour’s relentless modernizing vision. Blair regarded traditional British values and identities as xenophobic, if not racist” (P.P 1-2 ll. 21-25), which makes it clear that Peter Oborne has a negative attitude towards Tony Blair and New Labour’s vision of the Commonwealth. He even arguments against Tony Blair when he mentions that the Commonwealth is more relevant than ever, while Tony Blair and New Labour’s ideologies are outdated. According to Peter Oborne the Commonwealth is not spreading through invasions, but on the other hand through “quiet diplomacy and gentle pressure” (P. 2 l. 47). After all P. Oborne still confess a future problem with the Commonwealth, which is the central reason for the success of the Common wealth – the Queen. The queen is the base of the Commonwealth and when she passes away the Commonwealth will be left in a crisis. Therefore P. Oborne suggest that the Commonwealth should not only be based in London, but instead develop into ex. India. It is a responsibility that lays in the future Duke and Duchess’ hands.