While the head of state is known to be the most powerful person in their sovereign, there are procedures and protocols, bureaucratic machinery and chains of command which makes it difficult to dictate sudden modifications in the policy. Additionally, there is that business of “balances and checks” that are set up by Founders which is specifically designed to avoid despotic rule by single tyrant.
Yes it is true that the president can do almost anything he/she wants whether to get tips to lose weight for him/her personally and constituents, ask someone to buy stuff and whatnot. But these are all minor tasks that don’t need prior approval from other department and agencies of the state. For serious and major developments to be performed, there are processes that even the president can’t bypass.
US Government to West Parliamentary System
Truth is, doing a quick comparison of US president with leaders from other democratic countries showed that US leader is more constricted to act than the said counterparts.
In countries similar to Canada for instance, it is following Westminster parliamentary system that was created in United Kingdom. Here, the prime minister can’t be lazy or lame. This is due to the reason that check and balances are not present and the whole system is totally different.
As a start, the prime minister isn’t elected at a federal level. Instead, each and every party is electing their own leader from among the ministers of the Parliament. Here, it is the equivalent of the US representatives. When a party has gained enough seats in House of Commons (House of Representatives), it will take power and their leaders then become prime minister.
A Fair Voice
Oftentimes, there are several parties in the parliament and some may even side together to be able to gain enough seats to have the most power to govern. In any case, the prime minister will never be in the position where he/she is stopped from executing the policy. Say that a party is part of a government coalition that does not like how things go, they have the power to vote against it. These votes indicate that the current government isn’t longer capable and most likely, a new election is underway.
