Jackie asked, over a month ago now, why the Queen's mug shot was plastered all over New Zealand's legal, if pretty much worthless, tender. (Wonder where she got that money from, hmmm?)
Well, the fact is that Zild is a Dominion of Her Nibs. She is Queen of New Zealand, of Australia (and I think) of Canada. She can, if she choses to do so, come on down and queen it up anywhere she likes.
Why? you may ask, and probably will, being such a crotchety, contrary and nosey set of sods. "Because we haven't thrown the English monarchy out yet," is the only answer I can vouchsafe. Although the Strine is desperately trying to do just that for reasons which I fail to understand so completely that it frightens me.
Because I can't really understand why anyone would want to throw the monarchy out. For Britain actually foots the bill for a Head of State for those countries which acknowledge Lizzy 2 as head of state, no matter how tenuous and tongue-in-cheek that acknowledgement may be. I feel this is a very important and noteworthy point, if I may make so bold as to state it. Boldly.
Note that for Zild and the others, we don't have to have nasty and expensive elections for a head of state. Costly business, really, and the outcomes aren't always that crash-hot. You can wind up in Chad, if I remember correctly.
In our neck of the woods, the government puts up some worthy citizen (or not, as the case may be) to be the Governor-General, the GG, who will stand in for the usually absent monarch (HoS pro tem, so to speak). The Queen says, "Fine, waddever," because she actually has no power to refuse the person that the Zild government puts up. In theory, Zild could put up a serial killer as GG, and 'Er Nibs would have to smile and say "Fine!". But Zild doesn't do that, it would rather have its serial killers in Parliament.
Queenie generally knights the GG-to-be if that worthy has not yet been dubbed. (Down, Wordwind, I didn't mean you!) Or dam(n)ed in a number of recent cases. The GG is then installed in a house of some antiquity for a three-year term, gets to wear a ridiculous uniform which appears to have been handed down from GG to GG since the 1840s, and goes around making (usually) boring speeches, cutting ribbons, handing out gongs and generally having a fun time. Not. Occasionally the GG says something controversial, but that's rather rare and is usually brought about by an overindulgence in his or her favourite tipple.
The GG has absolutely NO political power. Australia Rules used to allow the Ozzian GG some leeway, but that was soundly abused in 1975 (or it wasn't, depending on your view of the situation) and the GG in Oz now has exactly the same powers as the GG in Zild. That is to say, none. It's a purely ceremonial post that doesn't even pay very well, at least in the Zild. And s/he doesn't get to have his/her mug shot on the currency. That's the Big Cheese's perogative.
There is a fringe movement to remove the monarchy trying gain some headway in Zild. I don't think it has a prayer of success. Most Zildians are actually rather attached to a head of state who is safely and more-or-less permanently stashed 12,000 miles away at no expense to them. They believe, I believe, that that is the best place for any head of state. Come to think of it, most Zildians would actually rather like the rest of their government to be 12,000 miles away, as well. Preferably also paid for out of the privy purse.
Admittedly, we are sometimes jealous of the American system. Why can't we, we plaintively cry, have a Monicagate? Why can't we, we bark, have a First Dog, run over or not as the case may be? Why can't we, we stammer, have a head of state who is hopelessly tongue-tied and short on knowledge of the finer points of English? Like, how to speak it? Most of our GGs are depressingly articulate, being formerly judgmental. Why can't we, we opine, have Republican and Democratic conventions in a town near us, instead of tawdry little election meetings over stewed tea and wine biscuits in cold and draughty church halls? Why can't we, we beseech the unfeeling heavens, pay through the nose via our taxes to support all three branches of government in the style to which they wish us to accept that they should become accustomed? Instead of the two that we ... hang on, hang on. Did I get that last one right?
Oh, well.
