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Originally Posted by tito
Smidgey, while I share your concerns over the unelected monarchy, consider this.
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It is not the unelected part, per say.
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Democracy, as a tool to elect leaders, is imposing the tyranny of the majority onto the minorities. This isn't good.
Democracy as a tool to elect administrators is very good.
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Indeed.
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I despise our elected leader, it is not possible for me to like an unelected leader any less.
I believe in a semi-elected monarch. As follows
Monarch is chosen by accident of birth, parliament votes on the monarchs accession to the throne. New monarch is now monarch for life, who can only be removed from office by majority vote in parliament and a national referendum (extremely unlikely)
The monarch should still be powerless though. A figurehead and head of state at present, but also a sworn defender of liberties. The monarch should be allowed to highlight injustices in laws against a written constitution. The monarch should be given the power to put such proposals through a supreme court style institution, if it is deemed constitutional the monarch could offer the public a referendum.
Parliament, and the prime minister, should not be as high profile as they are today. Instead they should be the administrators of the state, not the leaders of the state. Servants, not rulers. The monarch should be the figurehead of the people, keeping the people's administrators in line.
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It would not only keep, and polish up, the historic institution of monarchy. But it would also provide a difficult hurdle for a would-be elected fascist to overcome. A monarch with such a role is likely to have an enormously high approval rating. If we had such a system now it would be the wakeup call the apathetic people need. Imagine the Queen coming on television now and saying that the government has gone too far and pointing out the erosion of liberties, the Labour government wouldn't last until the end of the week.[/quote]
I see nothing wrong with protecting liberties and a written, legally binding, constitution (I am a libertarian afterall - which is why I cannot support such institutionalised corruption). I just think that a head of state with the power of veto to be far more useful. I also dislike the celebrity cult that the monarchy is associated with.