You can’t call Britain a banana republic. It would be totally wrong. Because Britain, after all, isn’t a republic. It’s very proud of the fact that its head of state inherited the job — although you’d have to wonder if the pride isn’t diminishing a bit, watching the antics of the royal family.
But still, the very fact of a royal family means that you can’t stick any old tropical fruit in front of its name and hope to have an accurate descriptor. So what do you nick-name a country whose political system has been corrupted from the top, to the point where it is impossible to be anything but cynical?
This is exclusive subscriber content. Already a subscriber? Sign in
