Down with The King?

• Share

King Jigme Singye Wangchuck of Bhutan is trying to abolish himself. The enlightened monarch of this tiny Himalayan kingdom, who has introduced such innovations as the use of a Gross National Happiness index to measure Bhutan's wealth, is now urging his people to get rid of him. "Monarchy is not the best form of government," he said last month at a stop on his anti-royalty campaign in the northern town of Haa. "It has many flaws."

The 50-year-old King, who has ruled Bhutan for 31 years, has been urging his subjects to replace its absolute monarchy with a 34-point constitution and a two-party parliamentary democracy, in part because he can't guarantee the quality of future kings. "In times to come, if the people were fortunate, the heir to the throne would be a dedicated and capable person," he said. "On the other hand, the heir could be a person of mediocre ability or even an incapable person." The proposed new rules wouldn't come into effect until 2008 because astrologers have deemed the intervening years inauspicious. The King is trying to convince the country to back the changes, which under the present system must be formally approved by its rubber-stamp parliament.

King Wangchuck, whose family has ruled since 1907, has been carefully moving Bhutan into the modern age, allowing in a limited number of tourists as well as television and the Internet—although the country's first traffic light, in the capital Thimpu, was deemed a step too far and the monarch had it removed. But for the first time, the King may not get his way: many Bhutanese seem unwilling to unseat him. "I look at all the problems the so-called democracies are facing and reckon I prefer the monarchy," said one young student at the meeting in Haa. Another told the state newspaper Kuensel that the idea of the King abdicating was "too painful to even conceive."