Wednesday, April 03, 2013

[leixfvmz] Elected head of state

For a government which separates head of state and head of government (not the US), it makes sense to have an elected head of state (so not like constitutional monarchies).  The head of state represents the ideals the country stands for, something that is fairly easy for the masses to evaluate and vote on, in contrast to specific hairy policy proposals or multifaceted social issues (which isn't to say we shouldn't also have elections on those topics as well).

What powers, if any, should the head of state have?  Perhaps officially none but the attention of the public, with which he or she can indirectly affect elections and the functions of the rest of government.  Perhaps "attention" is codified by regulation of mass media.

It's been tried and still is being tried: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliamentary_republic

Perhaps non-humans can serve the office: committees, even fictional characters operated by committees.

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