The media and the political parties like a "monarchy", John, because it's easy to market it. It's a simple concept, and it permits endless photo ops, and turns elections into a popularity contest rather than a serious look into real (and complex) issues.

For this reason, all the parties are obliged to select a potential monarch, and they are all obliged to lie to the electorate while campaigning and make a long list of false promises which can't possibly be honoured once in government, because they are unworkable.

Thus, I favour banning all political parties forever, and voting for local, known individuals who all get an equal amount of funding for their campaigns (from a public trust)...on the basis of their character and their ideas...NOT their party.

Either that, or select qualified individuals by lot and form a governmental assembly, which then chooses a cabinet, etc., and governs as a single cooperative body (with different opionions among the members, no doubt), not as 2 or more competing party structures out to discredit and destroy one another. I frankly think it would work better than the present system and be far more honest and responsible. Service would genuinely become service...and would be considered quite a privilege, I would think.

But what a blow to the media.... :-)

- LH