The inauguration of Barack Obama as US President transfixed
Australians. Some even travelled to Washington to be part of the
occasion. A much larger number got up in the middle of the night to
watch the ceremonies on television.
The four days included official constitutional ceremonies, like the
swearing in, public speeches, street parties and more formal
celebrations like the ten presidential balls.
The serious purpose of pomp and ceremony and partying like this is
often underrated. The occasion connects government more closely to the
people in a public and often emotional way.
Yet if Obama had been sworn in, Australian-style, the ceremonies would
have been very different, the occasion held in private and the
audience much smaller. The Prime Minister and the members of the new
government would have been sworn in by the Governor-General at her
official residence in Yarralumla before a small group of family and
friends. A smallish morning tea party would follow.
The next day a
formal photograph to commemorate the occasion would appear in the
media.
Much earlier than that, soon after
the election, the new PM would have flown to Canberra and started to work. A small crowd, mostly of
officials, supplemented by some keen onlookers, would have greeted the
new prime minister at Fairbairn Airport.
Later, at the first sitting of the new parliament, the Governor-General
would declare parliament open and read the official speech on behalf
of her government. All of this is done inside the building, before an
audience mainly made up of relatives, friends, staffers and
parliamentary officials.
The common Australian response is that public ceremonies like the inauguration are uniquely American. Yet that is not true.
Last February there was a great display of public joy and affection
when Kevin Rudd apologised to the Stolen Generations. Older
Australians remember royal tours as providing a similar sort of public
display. ANZAC Day ceremonies and this week's Australia Day celebrations still provide it.
Australians are not that different from Americans. They are just given fewer occasions and opportunities to display
their joy. The decline of the monarchy in Australia
has removed one set of opportunities, because too few people believe
in it any more.
Any explanation that relies on cultural differences between the USA
and Australia is unconvincing. The more relevant difference between
the USA and Australia is institutional. Obama is Head of State and
Head of Government all wrapped into one office and one person.
Australians have a parliamentary democracy represented by three official personages: the Queen, the Governor-General and
the Prime Minister.
Furthermore, not only is the Governor-General not elected, but the appointment is made by the Queen on the Prime Minister's recommendation. This process is hardly transparent. Similarly, the Prime Minister is not personally
elected to the top job, but is chosen by the caucus of the winning party. Even Kevin07 can't be expected to generate the same level of personal
support as a US President.
These factors pose genuine difficulties for Australian-style
ceremonies. Nevertheless there are possibilities.
Let's put the Queen aside because she's too far removed to be useful.
But she does provide ceremonial opportunities for the British in
Britain. If Australia becomes a republic with one of its own as
President, the pomp and ceremony could be replicated in Australia in
our own way.
In the case of both the Prime Minister and the Governor-General there
is more that could be done.
Official functions that at present are
held indoors and in semi-private, either in Yarralumla or in Parliament
House, should be expanded to allow greater public involvement. They should be transferred to a more public venue, or opened up to include a public aspect attached to the official requrements.
Additionally, greater effort should be made to recognise public
needs in constructing occasions for governments to connect with people, such as a keys to the city ceremony for an
incoming government. And why not have an official public welcome for both
new Governors-General and new Prime Ministers?
Allowing and encouraging greater public engagement with such occasions would enable Australians en masse to connect
with the office and to celebrate Australian democracy and national
identity.
John Warhurst is an adjunct professor of political science at the
Australian National University and Flinders University and a columnist
with The Canberra Times.