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Cake day: July 12th, 2023

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  • I wouldn’t consider it a coup. Coup typically means an unlawful takeover of a government, in the case of Whitlam, it was and still is in the power of the governer general (who is directed by the king or queen) to appoint or dismiss a prime minister.

    This is what happens in Australia when there’s our equivalent of a govt shutdown. A shutdown implies the leaders have failed at their jobs, so the governer general just dismisses the PM via the king and appoints one who can do his job properly and get things working again.

    Confounding this was the fact that both the PM and the GG have the ability to appoint and dismiss each other, in a roundabout way. The PM advises the king or queen to appoint a GG and the king is obligated to follow that advice. The GG advises the king to approve the ascendency of the elected PM, but can advise the king to dismiss them as well. Ultimately it’s the king or queen who calls the shots, but by modern etiquette, the monarch is just a conduit for that advice.

    When both try to dismiss each other, it really comes down to who gets their letter into the king’s hand first. In this case, it was Kerr.

    I don’t doubt that the CIA interfered and manipulated circumstances, but I don’t think the term “Coup” fits.