Who would’ve thought Aussies’ support for the monarchy still be so strong after the Queen’s death? The reason for that is staring us right in the face, writes PETER VAN ONSELEN

More Australians approve of the job King Charles is doing as head of state of Australia than the job Anthony Albanese is doing as prime minister.

The only reason the reality isn’t completely embarrassing for Albo as he ponders when to call the next federal election is that the same is true when you compare satisfaction with the king with opposition leader Peter Dutton.

Who would have thought that support for the monarchy would remain so strong in the aftermath of the Queen’s death?

Republicans had long anticipated the moment when Australia could step up a new campaign to sever ties with Britain.

Malcolm Turnbull, former head of the Australian Republican Movement and subsequent prime minister, long used the Queen’s then-death as his way of avoiding questions about whether he would call another referendum on the issue.

It was a convenient excuse at the time, but it was also a guide to when exactly Republican advocates thought it would be time to achieve the goal of independence.

Some protesters unfurled a banner reading ‘DECOLONISE’ – in a message to King Charles and Queen Camilla

Some were more polite than others at the immediate death of Queen Elizabeth II, calling for a period of mourning before such a campaign was staged.

But fast forward more than two years after her death, and even cautious Republicans expected to gain more momentum toward their goal than they currently do.

In reality, the way questions are asked plays a major role in what published polls suggest is the case when it comes to support for becoming a republic.

Broadly speaking, most Australians – like me – will answer a poll confirming that they favor a republic.

But when pollsters dig a little deeper, most Australians (like me) are in no rush to become a republic.

Republicans like me support cutting formal ties with Britain in the name of nation-building and as the next step toward Australia’s middle-power future in a globalized world.

We do not support it because of the short-sighted view that colonialism was bad for this country. Or that British influence has had a negative impact on the political culture that our democratic polity has developed.

Such thinking is radical and outrageous, and it certainly does not appeal to mainstream Australians.

But many Australians are not even sure whether they trust greater empowerment of the political class under a republican model.

And there is even a sense that the shift is so far down the order of priorities at this point that it has all but disappeared from view.

Add to this the debacle of the Indigenous Voice referendum process – led by an incompetent Prime Minister – and the number of Australians willing to experience some version of that to achieve the constitutional shift to a republic falls even further.

So why is support for Australia becoming a republic slipping? The above factors are part of the explanation, but there is more to it.

The Republican cause has been hijacked by the kind of people you would never really want to support.

Proponents see the process as a form of activism for activism’s sake, rather than as a deliberate goal for the next step of national growth.

I would be ashamed to join the Republican cause when I look at those who have unsuccessfully promoted this in recent years.

Lidia Thorpe made a fool of herself when she shouted obscenities at the visiting king on Monday

It’s essentially little more than a toy for them, among dozens of other things they hold dear – until they don’t.

It has become bogus republicanism, instead of reforms championed by experts and analysts.

And when you see scenes like we saw yesterday, when Senator Lidia Thorpe made a complete fool of herself by shouting obscenities at the visiting king, it’s hard not to think that if we become a republic it will simply be used by people like them . as a way to spark more divisive debates that most Australians don’t want to have.

Which leads many to think that the best way to combat this is to stick with the status quo.

My American heritage has always made me a cynic when it comes to royal patronage. It just seems silly the idea that you can be born into such a status as the British do.

But if supporting a king keeps the likes of Thorpe at bay, maybe I can embrace my inner royal.

It is the lesser evil to observe the stupidity of modern activists like them.