The King of Swaziland just renamed his own country

G’day, Chuck here.

The world these days is pretty globalised. It’s easy to travel around the planet, visit a wealth of countries and explore the diverse cultures of Earth.

But if we have to be critical and mention one thing you want to be careful of, it’s getting important destinations confused. You certainly don’t want to think you’re visiting one destination only to end up somewhere else entirely.

Thankfully, King Mswati of Switzerland has been a proactive little bunny and is working to make sure you can’t make any mistakes where his kingdom is concerned. Ah sh**, I mean King Mswati of Swaziland. See how easy it is to balls that up?

How’s the angry mofo behind the king? Credit: Juergen Baetz/dpa

If you were ever in danger of confusing Switzerland – which is colder than an eskimo’s erogenous zones – with Swaziland, which isn’t, Mswati has your back. King Mswati is one of the few kings left with the power to make any decision about his territory he bloody well wants to make. On the 50^th anniversary of Swazi independence (and his 50^th birthday), Mswati renamed Swaziland to eSwatini.

Mswati enjoys absolute power in eSwatini and he’s used it to rectify what he sees as a big problem. He is credited as having said, “Whenever we go abroad, people refer to us as Switzerland.”

Celebration cake! Credit: Taiwan Presidential Office

While citizens of Swaziland think the king should focus on more important matters – like the nation’s economy or total lack of democracy, he’s clearly had enough of being confused with Switzerland and its powerful economy, kickass knives and delicious cheese.

In fairness to the all-powerful ruler though, he has clearly mulled the idea over for quite a while. He’s been referring to his landlocked country as eSwatini since at least 2014 at the opening of the country’s parliament.

On that note, despite the name change, Mswati’s land – and Mswati himself – will still remain a concern for pro-democracy activists. Officially, the country has a parliament. In reality, the opposition is not allowed into its chambers.

A traditional dance at a royal ceremony. Credit: Taiwan Presidential Office

Final thought: You’ve gotta say having the ability to change the name of your country on a whim and the balls to do it is pretty high-five-worthy, after all, I bet loads of drunk b*****ds have accidentally ended up there after grabbing a cheap Ryanair flight from Europe. Ignoring the fact your country is broke as f*** and focusing on trivial matters is not. Come on, Mswati, do your country a solid and invite a little democracy in. Your people will love you a little more then!

H/T: LadBible.