Mottley, who has campaigned on republicanism, won a landslide victory in 2018 elections when her party won all 30 seats in the House of Assembly. He believes that the island is ready to make the transition but that it also needs more time to think the process through and do it properly. “It was a convenient distraction from COVID and the economic crisis we are in,” Guy Hewitt, a former high commissioner for Barbados in the United Kingdom and a member of the opposition party, said. With recent discussions around race in the royal family and a looming transition of power in the British monarchy, some wonder if Barbados could also start a domino effect and challenge the influence of Britain in all its overseas realms, already weakened by Brexit.īecoming a republic separate from the British monarch, a power left to individual countries, has been a matter of bipartisan consensus for a while in Barbados, but Mottley’s timing did not please everyone. Yet Mia Mottley, the country’s popular and charismatic prime minister, is determined to get it done. With unemployment in 2020 nearing 13%, becoming a republic may not be everyone’s top priority. The economy of Barbados, an eastern Caribbean island of around 280,000 people, depends heavily on the tourism industry-and despite some innovative efforts, such as the creation of a remote working visa, visitors have been scarce during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the timing picked by the government to give the queen a final farewell has raised eyebrows. The announcement was not a surprise for anybody on the tropical island: The debate on republicanism has been alive and well for around 40 years. In doing so, Barbados is going to become a republic. 30, 2021, on the 55th anniversary of the country’s independence, Barbados will break up with Elizabeth and instead swear in a local Barbadian president as head of state. “The time has come to fully leave our colonial past behind,” Mason said. 16, 2020, Barbados Governor General Sandra Mason-Queen Elizabeth II’s representative in the country-announced that she would soon be out of a job.