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Discussion » Statements » Rosie's Corner » What are the requirements (Constitutional I expect) in your country for a citizen to be elected "head" of it?
RosieG

What are the requirements (Constitutional I expect) in your country for a citizen to be elected "head" of it?

Ours in America are embarrassingly sparse.

Perhaps so the ordinary common average typical human could become president?



Be 35
Be Alive
Be a "natural born" American citizen

That's it? YEP. That's it.

Nothing about sanity or intelligence or experience or education or criminal corrupt baggage or traitor treasoning tendences. No way to test I guess.

Can YOU beat that? I bet you can with both hands tied behind your back blindfolded and shackled to a chain link fence. But in America "all things are possible".

You get what you are willing to settle for. Low expectations bring lower than expected results.

It is THE AMERICAN WAY. Say hey.

We have on occasion been fortuitously blessed with an applicant that had all the right stuff. Accidentally Incidentially. He was elected and served WITHOUT SCANDAL.

Posted - August 5, 2020
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Responses


  • 3719
    I don't think there are formal "requirements" in the UK for becoming Prime Minister, as if it is a managerial role in a company, but the PM is the Leader of the Party in Government, elected by its members.

    If the party wins a General Election its Leader is de facto Prime Minister. If it loses so is in Opposition, but is the major one of the several Opposition Parties with MPs in the House of Commons, he or she is the Leader of the Opposition.

    However,  you can't just stand for election as PM, or any other Ministerial role. You have to stand for election as a Member of Parliament representing a Constituency for the political party of which you are a full member; but only with the party's blessing and selection.

    Once in Parliament you won't rise to any ministerial post, or be considered for leadership, without some years proving yourself as an ordinary MP. The first step to being a Cabinet Minister is usually a Junior Minister for a Department such as Transport or Health.

    Also, whether an ordinary "back-bench" MP or the Prime Minister, you are still there as a constituency MP by the say-so of your constituents, in a General Election.

    So it is all a matter of experience, constant scrutiny and election.

    '

    I don't know what formal processes for this are set out in the Constitution, though Government and Parliament do work within a formal framework, and Parliament's proceedings - effectively the Minutes - are transcribed in a set of documents referred to as "Hansard". I think Hansard also carries the procedures for Parliament's work.

    There is a commonly-heard myth even among people who should know better, that "the UK has no written Constitution". It does! They confuse the format with existence, thinking a "Constitution" is a single document as in the USA. In fact the UK's Constitution is enshrined in a long series of documents and Acts going right back to the Magna Carta.  
      August 6, 2020 5:14 PM MDT
    1

  • 113301
    I was thinking in terms of AGE and education. Also what tests do they have to pass vis a vis health and mental? We have a crackpot wackadoodlenoodle. How do you guard against THAT? Thank you for your thoughtful and informative reply Durdle. Does it have to be a CITIZEN born in your country or could it be one who is Naturalized? Are there rules/laws that such a one must obey and when he/doesn't you have a check and balance system? We had one but it's broken so now we have an insane man at the helm with no rails. You see how that is not a good thing. :(
      August 7, 2020 4:42 AM MDT
    0

  • 113301
    I was thinking in terms of AGE and education. Also what tests do they have to pass vis a vis health and mental? We have a crackpot wackadoodlenoodle. How do you guard against THAT? Thank you for your thoughtful and informative reply Durdle. Does it have to be a CITIZEN born in your country or could it be one who is Naturalized? Are there rules/laws that such a one must obey and when he/doesn't you have a check and balance system? We had one but it's broken so now we have an insane man at the helm with no rails. You see how that is not a good thing. :(
      August 7, 2020 4:42 AM MDT
    0