Originally Posted by Hamwich
Originally Posted by howard
every country has to have some sort of state figurehead.


Genuine question: Why?

Why could we not have a codified written constitution, enshrined in law and backed by the Supreme Court, to which we all owe our allegiance and to which all citizens are subject, even (especially!) the Government of the day?

If we wanted a flesh and blood figurehead to go round opening hospitals and greeting foreign dignitaries then that could just as well be served by making it a voluntary position with a fixed term of one year for which ordinary citizens could apply and be chosen by lot.

Granted the Queer old Dean has done a spiffing job of playing the role for 70 years, but it has to be said she's a bit exceptional in that regard, it's not like the Royal Fam has been exactly awash with decent folk since Victoria.


A fair statement Tim, I thought the same around the time of the death of Diana, it seemed to be a mess. No one that I know of (the odd south african despot excepted) has ever elected the _system_ they operate under.

Ours happens to be an unusual combo of Royal bloodlines. You can pick the various best bits of many of the alternative systems and consider them better from an external point of view. I thought Singapore felt like a good idea until I visited and found it a touch stifling.

Within our current system I would love to see the Queen actually do something concerning her appointed PM in order to bring a bit of serious risk to the position. Give Doris a call and ask him to visit the Big House following his continued inability to treat things seriously. Explain to him that treating the population like his personal audience to play with was unacceptable and one more gaff and she would adjust his role. It must be difficult to keep your nose out of things sometimes.

Everyone loves a Morgan. Even me, unless it's broken again.