Is very interesting, refocusing attention on a perceived lost greatness and desire to go back to those days, quite a canny political move - after all it proved successful for Donald Trump!

I have been thinking to myself for a while (but have been cautious about posting because it is such an emotive subject) about the future of monarchy in 21st century Europe. I don’t want to get into arguments about the merits of left or right politics but about the role that monarchy could potentially play in the future of Europe, as it faces the biggest crisis since the Second World War.

I am reminded of the famous Churchill quote, “If the Allies at the peace table at Versailles had allowed a Hohenzollern, a Wittelsbach and a Habsburg to return to their thrones, there would have been no Hitler.”

If we stick to Hungary, could a restored monarchy in Hungary provide a sufficient focus for national identity and pride in one’s history to deter a further lurch to the far right? Could we see those on the left actually welcoming restorations as a way of stemming overtly nationalistic far right political movements?

It doesn’t have to be a formal restoration of course.

Anybody have any views?

20 years ago I would have said that the prospects of restorations in almost every country was zero, yet you have semi-official monarchies in Serbia, Romania, Albania and Montenegro.

Now you have Hungary looking more positively on its monarchical past.

Interesting times to be a monarchist.