Democrasy or monarchist regime is there in Great Britan?

I’m sure Jason will correct me if I wrong . . .

I think that Great Britain would be considered democratic.
The people elect the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister is effectively the ruler of the country.

While the Queen technically has the power to overrule the Prime
Minister, she doesn’t in practice. She just acts an advisor and
observer, and perform ceremonial acts such as the appointment
of the Prime Minister. I think that if the PM got out of hand,
then the Queen could dismiss the PM–calling for a new election.
However, the PM is also subject to scrutiny by Parliament, which
is at least in part also an electorate of the people.

The USA has no interest in taking over other countries.
The poor decision-making with regard to Iraq was purely
George W. Bush’s (the president’s) doing. The people are
trying to curtail some of his actions, and after a little over
a year from now, we will have someone new.

S

Hi Stalker,

Great-Britain I consider to be a kind of a mix between a democracy (80 %) and a monarchy (20 %). I think that this kind of government (a constitutional monarchy) is a fortunate combination. Or at least nothing better has been invented yet… A classic quote of Winston Churchill on democracy in Great-Britain: “Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time”.

Whereas an absolute monarchy becomes a cruel dictatorship all too easily, an absolute democracy can easily be swayed by demagogues. For example: Hitler was elected by a majority of the people. And George Bush too…

In my opinion, a monarch can give a voice to the values and achievements of the past, and be a stable factor amidst the wavering sentiments of the electorate of the present.

An example of a great monarch today is king Juan Carlos of Spain. When adherents to former dictator Franco organised a coup against the young democratic government, he was able to resist the coup simply by his position and the integrity and respect he commanded.

I myself live in the Netherlands, which is one of the most stable and prosperous countries in the world. For this we thank a long tradition of citizenship, but also our monarchy I would say. In fact, someone described our country as “a republic with a Queen as head of state”.

It would not have been a bad thing if the USA also had a monarchy. The Kennedy’s came close…. Here is a little joke that circulated in Europe when George Bush was trying to steal the elections for the first time:

***** NOTICE OF REVOCATION OF INDEPENDENCE *****

To the citizens of the United States of America, In the light of your
failure to elect a President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves,
we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective today.

Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchial duties over
all states, commonwealths and other territories. Except Utah, which she does
not fancy. Your new prime minister (The Rt. Hon. Tony Blair, MP for the 97.85%
of you who have until now been unaware that there is a world outside your borders)
will appoint a minister for America without the need for further elections.
Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire will be circulated
next year to determine whether any of you noticed.

To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following
rules are introduced with immediate effect:

1. You should look up “revocation” in the Oxford English Dictionary.
Then look up “aluminium”. Check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing it. Generally, you should raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. Look up “vocabulary”. Using the same twenty seven words interspersed with filler noises such as “like” and “you know” is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. Look up “interspersed”.

2. There is no such thing as “US English”. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf.

3. You should learn to distinguish the English and Australian accents. It really isn’t that hard.

4. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as the good guys.

5. You should relearn your original national anthem, “God Save The Queen”, but only after fully carrying out task 1. We would not want you to get confused and give up half way through.

6. You should stop playing American “football”. There is only one kind
of football. What you refer to as American “football” is not a very good
game. The 2.15% of you who are aware that there is a world outside your
borders may have noticed that no one else plays “American” football.
You will no longer be allowed to play it, and should instead play proper
football. Initially, it would be best if you played with the girls. It
is a difficult game. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to
play rugby (which is similar to American “football”, but does not involve
stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body
armour like nancies). We are hoping to get together at least a US rugby
sevens side by 2005.

7. You should declare war on Quebec and France, using nuclear weapons if they give you any merde. The 98.85% of you who were not aware that here is a world outside your borders should count yourselves lucky. The Russians have never been the bad guys. “Merde” is French for “shit”.

8. July 4th is no longer a public holiday. November 8th will be a new national holiday, but only in England. It will be called “Indecisive Day”.

9. All American cars are hereby banned. They are crap and it’s for your own good.
When we show you German cars, you will understand what we mean.

10. Please tell us who killed JFK. It’s been driving us crazy.

Thank you for your cooperation.