Mark Asser2d ago
The only way to be sure of having no king is to have a non-executive head of state. Worth bearing in mind when rewriting out of date and ineffective documents. #uspol
Show threadBin Chicken 🗑𓅠

@MarkAsser Many years ago, there was talk of Australia becoming a republic, and one of the models proposed had a president with very little power. At the time, I thought it was a bad idea, not much different to our current arrangement of Governor General who, I thought was "Just a figurehead". Oh, I was naïve...

Later, I learned about Governor General John Kerr, and The Dismissal of Gough Whitlam. And, how that led to the undemocratic handover to Malcolm Fraser, and to many years of political Dark Ages that followed — that was the "normal" when I was a kid growing-up. John Kerr's abuse of power reshaped politics and governance in Australia for many Gen X people and all following generations.

The lesson history teaches us from political skullduggery in 1970s Australia is: you don't want a Governor General going rogue and breaking our system of Democracy.
You _do_ want your ultimate leader to be just a figurehead.
You want your nation's leaders to know their station and act accordingly, which is not to rule the people, but to serve the people.

#AusPol #JohnKerr #GoughWhitlam #MalcolmFraser #MaintainYourRage

Apr 8 at 12:44amWeb
Show threadMark Asser2d ago
@BinChicken Nailed it. They can rattle about opening fetes and spouting platitudes, but power needs to rest with a head of government kept in check by parliament (or equivalent). The Irish system seems to produce sane outcomes. (Quality may vary, obvs, we're talking about people here.)
Show threadMatt Godden2d ago

@BinChicken @MarkAsser I mean honesty, living in Qld, I kinda wish our Governor had "gone rogue" and simply denied assent to all the Olympic shenanigans that directly contradict the promises made by the LNP prior to the election.

The role of the head of state should be to enforce obligations to fulfil electoral promises made, and dismiss governments, or parliamentary leaders who fail to do so.