raymondhng — 9 years ago(January 30, 2017 12:36 AM)
HM The Queen is the Head of State, but not the Head of Government unlike the U.S. President who is both in the same person. Our countries have two different systems that have been adapted and changed over time. I understand and appreciate the way your constitutional monarchy and Westminster Parliamentary system work, but I would not conclude one system of government is better than the other. You must remember European monarchies were unable to prevent World War I and several monarchies fell one-by-one.
Your incoming Prime Minister is able to appoint people to the Cabinet immediately without any approval from any body. The U.S. President, on the other hand, nominates appointees to his Cabinet and hundreds of federal court judges throughout the country, but every single nomination must be vetted by a Senate committee and confirmed by the full Senate which is not always successful. Your Prime Minister, on the other hand, does not have these limitations when forming HM Government. But she does have a weekly meeting with HM where The Queen has the right to be consulted, the right to encourage, and the right to warn.
The United Kingdom has a devolved government within a unitary state whereas the U.S., Canada, and Australia are federations. The central government, the UK Parliament, can revoke the independence of the subunits (Scottish Parliament, Welsh National Assembly, Northern Ireland Assembly) without changing the constitution. In contrast the independent subunits of the states of the U.S., the states of Australia, and the provinces of Canada cannot be dissolved without changing the constitution which is extremely difficult.
The U.S. President is not an absolute monarch. Even though he recently signed an executive order banning people from certain countries from entering the U.S., the federal courts were able to block his executive order because the order was unconstitutional.
Each state in the U.S. has its own government as well. If a state government feels the federal government or president has passed any law they feel is unconstitutional, the state can file a lawsuit in federal court. The state of California is already shoring up defenses to fight the president in court if he attempts to rollback any political gains in California.
What you currently witnessing in the U.S. is the system of checks and balances coming into play.