tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34249799.post1517131781466020108..comments2024-03-29T16:58:01.576+13:00Comments on AmeriNZ Blog: Who will rule them all?Arthur Schenckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10568299067544221996noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34249799.post-76316472294951133872009-10-19T19:18:00.202+13:002009-10-19T19:18:00.202+13:00As a confirmed republican (lowercase "r"...As a confirmed republican (lowercase "r", thank you), I don't like the very idea of a hereditary head of state. But there's also no reason the NZ Head of State would have to be anything like a US president.<br /><br />NZ's system of government places all power in Parliament, which technically derives its authority from the sovereign. Since the monarch is a figurehead, option 2 in the first referendum question kind of keeps things as they are (since Parliament chooses the figurehead's representative, the Governor General). Since no term of office is listed, the HoS could even be a lifetime appointment—so it could even be an elected monarch, like the Holy Roman Empire or—gasp!—the Vatican<br /><br />The point is, becoming a republic doesn't require abandoning our Westminster-style government—it need only mean replacing a foreign monarch with a New Zealander.<br /><br />Still, it's nothing I'm gonna go to the barricades over!!Arthur Schenckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10568299067544221996noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34249799.post-75203538555617483462009-10-19T12:19:13.873+13:002009-10-19T12:19:13.873+13:00I'm surprised to find myself thinking the Quee...I'm surprised to find myself thinking the Queen should remain head of state. (I wouldn't have 2 1/2 yrs ago when I first arrived in NZ, seemed quaint, and is even.)<br /><br />It's probably a reaction against how divisive the president and selection process is in the US (still even now that we have a non-insane one). But here in NZ it seems that since we don't have to deal with picking a head of state that there's political / social energy to spend on things that really matter.Reedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08421446913684696278noreply@blogger.com