By Malcolm Strachan

Barbados was the centre of attention last week – as the nation officially became a republic.

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis was in attendance for the event, as was Prince Charles to witness the moment when the country stopped pledging allegiance to the Queen.

The presence of music superstar Rihanna also caught the eye, who was named a hero of Barbados and bestowed with the title “the right excellent”. As she presented the award, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley said: “May you continue to shine like a diamond and bring honour to your nation by your words, your actions, and to do credit wherever you shall go. God bless you, my dear.”

As he watched the proceedings, one wonders what Mr Davis thought of the idea of a republic, and whether it is a path that The Bahamas might follow.

Next year marks the 50th anniversary of our own Independence, but we still have our connection to the Queen.

Just last month, upon his return from the climate talks in Glasgow, Mr Davis revealed that he had asked Prince Charles and Prince William to attend our celebrations next year. He said: “Among those to say yes, I was pleased that Prince Charles was very enthusiastic, as was Prince William at another event. As Prince Charles represented the Queen at the original Independence Ceremony in 1973, this was a wonderful gesture.”

Mr Davis’ PLP comrade, Fred Mitchell, who fills both the roles of party chairman and Foreign Affairs Minister, was quick to weigh in on the prospect of becoming a republic.

He said he was committed to the nation becoming a republic, but in a moment of seeming world-weariness, he added: “It is my life’s work toward deepening our democracy, but try as I might over my lifetime I have been unable to fire up the succeeding generations on this issue. Perhaps they have more important things to do.”

He went on to say: “I suspect that there will be a cascading effect since Barbados – arguably the most conservative of CARICOM societies – has done so. The whole question of whether o not a republic is impatient of debate, but the political reality is that unless the younger generation buys into it, it will go nowhere.”

Is it really the younger generation that isn’t buying into it? After all, there is a certain amount of political expedience to be had in our current situation.

Recently, there have been a few renewed calls for the death penalty to be carried out once more. Politically, that question has hinged for years on the finding in the 2011 Maxo Tido case, when the Privy Council – one of those vestiges of our link to the Queen – ruled that such a penalty should only be carried out in cases which were “the worst of the worst and the rarest of the rare”.

Successive governments could have taken further action to legislate to define when a death penalty could be carried out – but is there a certain advantage to avoid dealing with such thorny questions by passing the buck up to the Privy Council? An advantage to pretend that hands are tied instead of taking legislative responsibility?

And is it the younger generation still clamouring for awards from the Queen, such as the OBE, MBE and knighthoods? Just last month, the Governor General, Sir Cornelius A Smith, received his own knighthood at Windsor Castle, as did the Chief Justice, Sir Brian Moree.

We have our own national honours now – but do we value our own honours higher than those awarded by the Queen?

Meanwhile, the influence of Britain is perhaps stronger than it has been in years, thanks to the increased presence of the British High Commissioner, Sarah Dickson, present recently at the return of Virgin Atlantic flights to The Bahamas. More notably, the High Commission played a part helping out in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian, as did British forces which deployed to help people affected by the storm.

A moment of transition is coming for the British royal family, with the Queen having taken a step back recently to deal with health issues. She is 95 years of age, and Prince Charles, her successor, will take the role at some point.

But will that moment of transition spur any desire for change here? There are few loud voices calling for such a change, to lay claim to the full independence of the nation.

Frustrations more to the fore are pointed at the government of the day, whichever one it is, rather than the bigger picture of independence – and the need for a referendum to make such a move is another issue to consider. We do not have a good track record with getting referendums passed recently – even when it came to the issue of simply giving women and men the same rights when it came to citizenship.

The first president of Barbados, Sandra Mason, as she was sworn in, said: “We must seek to redefine our definition of self, of state, and the Barbados brand, in a more complex, fractured and turbulent world.

“Our country and people must dream big dreams and fight to realise them.”

Before we think of following Barbados, we too must take that first step of defining who we are and what we want. We too are more than capable of dreaming big dreams – but only when we shrug off the convenience of our current state and our desire to hold on to institutions that would be left behind.

It seems we are more keen to look forward to royal visits than we are to cast off the royal connection – so talk of a move to a republic seems like just that for now: talk