Re:Laura Poitras Reveals Her Own Life Under Surveillance
by tomp on Friday February 05, 2016 @04:18AM
(#11040414)
You need to compare the US president by the similarly positioned person in each country. E.g. in France it's the president, in the UK and Germany the chancellor, in Slovenia the prime minister (in Germany and Slovenia the president is powerless).
Re:Laura Poitras Reveals Her Own Life Under Surveillance
by germanier on Friday February 05, 2016 @06:05AM
(#11040714)
I wouldn't call the German president completely powerless. They can veto laws that seem unconstitutional (and this was done multiple times in the past). In case of war they play an important role. Their speeches often have large Impact.
But compared to other countries that's still relatively few powers.
Re:Laura Poitras Reveals Her Own Life Under Surveillance
by Ntrails on Friday February 05, 2016 @09:03AM
(#11041407)
President is far more akin to Prime Minister in the UK than chancellor, although in some ways I suppose not since the president is not a member of either house and rarely speaks/debates there.
Also the power of Veto is one thing - but the power only to maintain the status quo is a pretty limiting thing.
Actually the opposite is true. In many (Western) countries the head of state has zero actual power. The US president has some actual power, e.g. limited veto right on bills.