If the USA were a Commonwealth realm...?

[Gun Manufacturers]

The most populous Commonwealth countries drive on the left hand side of the road. I expect Americans will adopt the new rules with enthusiasm rivalled only by their adoption of the Metric system, and grow to enjoy the sound of cars colliding head-on at all hours of the day.

Except in the rural areas of course. Where they will show their disdain of the new rules by driving the same as always, bang down the center line.

That's because of the deer.

[Ariddia]

Though actually the sacrifice of sovereignty is minor, joining the Realm, and does not imply any ownership of one country by another.

To be perfectly accurate, it isn't one realm. There isn't one shared Commonwealth realm; there are sixteen separate ones. That's because the Crown of each country is constitutionally separate from each of the others.

The Crown of Canada is fully and exclusively under Canada's control, for example, not Britain's. Canada is a realm unto itself.

So there wouldn't be even a drop of loss of sovereignty.

As for who would be Governor General, literally anyone. In most Commonwealth Realms, the Prime Minister makes the recommendation for Governor General to the Queen.

Yes; that's the thought experiment I'm putting to you all here. Bearing in mind that the Governor General should be a non-partisan, non-political figure who can serve as a unifying head of state: Who might make a good Governor General of the US?

Why would the Prime Minister be chosen by the house of representatives? This isn't how it works in any Commonwealth realm.

The Prime Minister is the head of the party that either has a majority, or is the largest party in a coalition, in Parliament.

As I said: To be Prime Minister of one of the Commonwealth realms, you must be a member of the lower house of Parliament, and you need to have the confidence (support) of a majority of members of that house. If you're the leader of a party that has more than half the seats, then it's clear-cut. If not, then it comes down to building agreements with other parties so that a majority of members of the house will allow you to govern. The PM isn't "elected" by the house, but that's what it amounts to: He or she can only be PM with the consent of the house.

If you mean we just take USA now and follow those rules I'll guess HRC would be in the position to be PM. Or very likely Obama since PMs in Canada don't have term limits.

True.

Governor General might be someone like Elizabeth Warren

Would she even want the position? It's a non-political, ceremonial one. The whole point is to be above politics.

[Nakena]

It would be pretty much like Canada.

Also very likely a different political culture too.

[Page]

Obviously the American Prime Minister should be master negotiator Nancy Pelosi. She's going to save us from the pandemic by making sure every citizen gets a $6 stimulus check.

[The Archregimancy]

Kanye West Beyonce as governor-general.

She's not a US citizen, though, so not eligible. Amusing as that would be.

Have you perhaps confused Ms Knowles-Carter with Ms Fenty?

Houston-born Beyoncé Knowles-Carter is very much an American citizen. Robyn Rihanna Fenty, however, is from Barbados, and is therefore ineligible to hold political office under the current US constitution.



One issue you would have to decide is whether the offices of Prime Minister and Governor General would be restricted to natural-born US citizens, as per the current US constitution, or whether either office could be opened up to naturalised US citizens. If the latter, then Arnold Schwarzenegger would become eligible to be Governor General; and who better to represent the US than an ageing immigrant action hero pumped full of steroids whose best years are clearly far behind him?

[Ariddia]

Have you perhaps confused Ms Knowles-Carter with Ms Fenty?

Houston-born Beyoncé Knowles-Carter is very much an American citizen. Robyn Rihanna Fenty, however, is from Barbados, and is therefore ineligible to hold political office under the current US constitution.

Ah, indeed I had. Thanks for the rectification. I must confess to my significant ignorance of contemporary popular music.

One issue you would have to decide is whether the offices of Prime Minister and Governor General would be restricted to natural-born US citizens, as per the current US constitution, or whether either office could be opened up to naturalised US citizens. If the latter, then Arnold Schwarzenegger would become eligible to be Governor General; and who better to represent the US than an ageing immigrant action hero pumped full of steroids whose best years are clearly far behind him?

That's a very good suggestion! Given that (as far as I'm aware) naturalised citizens can be elected to Congress, logically the position of Prime Minister would be open to them. As for the position of Governor General, I don't see why the US would want to narrow the pool. Far be it from me to want to startle Michaëlle Jean by comparing her to "Arnie", but there's precedent for a culturally diverse nation to choose a foreign-born citizen as its Governor General.

[-Astoria-]

So, basically Canada minus Quebec ^{assuming you discount Louisiana}?

[The Archregimancy]

Have you perhaps confused Ms Knowles-Carter with Ms Fenty?

Houston-born Beyoncé Knowles-Carter is very much an American citizen. Robyn Rihanna Fenty, however, is from Barbados, and is therefore ineligible to hold political office under the current US constitution.

Ah, indeed I had. Thanks for the rectification. I must confess to my significant ignorance of contemporary popular music.

One issue you would have to decide is whether the offices of Prime Minister and Governor General would be restricted to natural-born US citizens, as per the current US constitution, or whether either office could be opened up to naturalised US citizens. If the latter, then Arnold Schwarzenegger would become eligible to be Governor General; and who better to represent the US than an ageing immigrant action hero pumped full of steroids whose best years are clearly far behind him?

That's a very good suggestion! Given that (as far as I'm aware) naturalised citizens can be elected to Congress, logically the position of Prime Minister would be open to them. As for the position of Governor General, I don't see why the US would want to narrow the pool. Far be it from me to want to startle Michaëlle Jean by comparing her to "Arnie", but there's precedent for a culturally diverse nation to choose a foreign-born citizen as its Governor General.

New Zealand has also provided some important precedents, with two governors general of indigenous descent (Paul Reeves and Jerry Mateparae), as well as one of Indo-Fijian descent (Anand Satyanand; though he was born in NZ). But while NZ is the only one of the former dominion Commonwealth Realms to have appointed indigenous governors general, I think Canada is the only one of the trio to have appointed governors general of minority background who were born outside Canada - indeed in Adrienne Clarkson and Michaëlle Jean, two successive women of colour born outside of Canada. Take that, Australia.


Mildly interesting that while Canada by custom alternates anglophone and francophone GGs, relatively few of the latter since the practice began were born in Québec. Georges Vanier, the first French-Canadian GG was from Montreal. Jules Léger was likewise Québécois. Jeanne Sauvé, however, was a Fransaskois from Saskatchewan. Roméo LeBlanc was from New Brunswick (or perhaps we should use Nouveau-Brunswick in this context; I always want to make the province feminine with 'nouvelle' for some reason). Michaëlle Jean moved to Québec province as a 10 or 11 year old, but was of course originally born in Haiti. So current GG - and former astronaut - Julie Payette is the first person to hold the role to have been born in Québec province since Léger stepped down in 1979; and is indeed the first native Québécoise to hold the role. So only 50% of francophone GGs have been Québec natives; and yes, I'm obviously aware of the not so subtle political point being made about the range of francophone communities across Canada as a whole. Franco-Manitobans are presumably still waiting for their turn.

[Ethel mermania]

She's not a US citizen, though, so not eligible. Amusing as that would be.

Have you perhaps confused Ms Knowles-Carter with Ms Fenty?

Houston-born Beyoncé Knowles-Carter is very much an American citizen. Robyn Rihanna Fenty, however, is from Barbados, and is therefore ineligible to hold political office under the current US constitution.



One issue you would have to decide is whether the offices of Prime Minister and Governor General would be restricted to natural-born US citizens, as per the current US constitution, or whether either office could be opened up to naturalised US citizens. If the latter, then Arnold Schwarzenegger would become eligible to be Governor General; and who better to represent the US than an ageing immigrant action hero pumped full of steroids whose best years are clearly far behind him?

Cold dr. Jones, that is just cold.

[The Archregimancy]

Have you perhaps confused Ms Knowles-Carter with Ms Fenty?

Houston-born Beyoncé Knowles-Carter is very much an American citizen. Robyn Rihanna Fenty, however, is from Barbados, and is therefore ineligible to hold political office under the current US constitution.



One issue you would have to decide is whether the offices of Prime Minister and Governor General would be restricted to natural-born US citizens, as per the current US constitution, or whether either office could be opened up to naturalised US citizens. If the latter, then Arnold Schwarzenegger would become eligible to be Governor General; and who better to represent the US than an ageing immigrant action hero pumped full of steroids whose best years are clearly far behind him?

Cold dr. Jones, that is just cold.

Well, the UK's current head of state is a much-loved but increasingly doddering nonagenarian who has no practical power, though she's occasionally wheeled out for purely ceremonial occasions to remind everyone that we still exist and used to be far more consequential internationally than we are these days, so I'd say we're currently as well-served symbolically as you would be by Thal's most famous son.

[Ethel mermania]

Cold dr. Jones, that is just cold.

Well, the UK's current head of state is a much-loved but increasingly doddering nonagenarian who has no practical power, though she's occasionally wheeled out for purely ceremonial occasions to remind everyone that we still exist and used to be far more consequential internationally than we are these days, so I'd say we're currently as well-served symbolically as you would be by Thal's most famous son.

Clearly God has saved the queen. Show some respect for the truck driver.

When we ask her "what did you do in the war daddy", she isn't going to answer, led the nazi's to the ark of the covenant.

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

I thought it kind of already was in some aspects...? There are several states that are commonwealths within the union: Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

[The Archregimancy]

Well, the UK's current head of state is a much-loved but increasingly doddering nonagenarian who has no practical power, though she's occasionally wheeled out for purely ceremonial occasions to remind everyone that we still exist and used to be far more consequential internationally than we are these days, so I'd say we're currently as well-served symbolically as you would be by Thal's most famous son.

Clearly God has saved the queen. Show some respect for the truck driver.

When we ask her "what did you do in the war daddy", she isn't going to answer, led the nazi's to the ark of the covenant.

Her Majesty was primarily a mechanic in the Auxiliary Territorial Service; though she did also train as a driver.

And while I'll concede that her Nazi-fighting credentials are rather better than mine under the circumstances, she can't claim that she survived a nuclear explosion by hiding in a fridge.

[The Archregimancy]

I thought it kind of already was in some aspects...? There are several states that are commonwealths within the union: Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

The OP is specifically referring to the constitutional status of the 16 nations (the United Kingdom and 15 former colonies) that are fully sovereign, but which still share Elizabeth II as head of state. These are formally known as Commonwealth realms. Note that the term does not apply to all members of the Commonwealth, only those where the Queen is de jure head of state separately from her status as Head of the Commonwealth.

So it's quite distinct from the functionally meaningless self-description of some US states as 'commonwealths'.

[Ethel mermania]

Clearly God has saved the queen. Show some respect for the truck driver.

When we ask her "what did you do in the war daddy", she isn't going to answer, led the nazi's to the ark of the covenant.

Her Majesty was primarily a mechanic in the Auxiliary Territorial Service; though she did also train as a driver.

And while I'll concede that her Nazi-fighting credentials are rather better than mine under the circumstances, she can't claim that she survived a nuclear explosion by hiding in a fridge.

Point conceded, though who the hell uses lead in the refrigerator making business is beyond me.

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

I thought it kind of already was in some aspects...? There are several states that are commonwealths within the union: Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

The OP is specifically referring to the constitutional status of the 16 nations (the United Kingdom and 15 former colonies) that are fully sovereign, but which still share Elizabeth II as head of state. These are formally known as Commonwealth realms. Note that the term does not apply to all members of the Commonwealth, only those where the Queen is de jure head of state separately from her status as Head of the Commonwealth.

So it's quite distinct from the functionally meaningless self-description of some US states as 'commonwealths'.

Ok.

[SKM]

Now you listen here, sonny. We didn't beat those God damn Tory sons-of-bitches back over the pond just so they could weasel their way into our free and fair system! Good, honest patriots died telling the King to go fuck himself and you bet your ass that good, honest patriots won't stand by as the Queen takes his place! Those damn Redcoats come back and you bet your hiney General Washington's ghost will rise from the grave to lay into 'em till they're seeing Red, White, and Blue before he dumps 'em in the Boston Harbor with the tea they brought with 'em!

Your system is not free or fair. Half of your population can’t even afford rent or food, only two parties have been elected President in the last hundred years, your education system and life expectancy is rapidly declining, and you don’t even use the only acceptable system of measurement on the planet! It’s the Queen who should be telling you to stop... I don’t even fucking know... perhaps become civilised, intelligent world citizens? T e a is only the greatest drink in existence, and the Union Jack was where the Red, White, and Blue on your flag came from!
I think it’s ‘bout time you had a constitutional monarchy to knock some sense back into yer brains (I won’t elaborate on that; if you take my meaning).

Being a commonwealth realm has huge advantages. Dr. Fauci should absolutely be Governor-General and the obvious Prime Minister would be President-Elect Biden.

[Alcona and Hubris]

So I am going to throw a monkey wrench at this because...

Benjamin Franklin proposed the colonies becoming a 'commonwealth' during the Seven Years war. Called the Albany Plan...making the 'commonwealth' an American idea.

Under that plan, which the role of Governor General was played by 'The President' and had a unicameral legislature with numbers of members in the legislature more equivalent to the electoral college than the current system of the divided legislature...

So who would be Gov General/President?...Al Gore or a Rockefeller, someone on the left from the right kind of background...not poor, middle class Joe...

Who would be in control of the House...Maybe the democrats...Maybe the republicans...but considering that per his majesties plans post Seven years war: Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Minnesota would all be a vast native nation and not part of the American colonies but Quebec and Ontario would be part of of this new 'commonwealth'...Hmm...likely the PM of Canada now...Truedu...Because Quebec always dominates with all of their constant succession talk...

[Forsher]

This honestly seems to be more "what if the US had a Westminster system and was also a Commonwealth Realm". In principle, the Prime Minister of the United States would be Nancy Pelosi. In practice, however, a Westminster style US wouldn't have Democrats and Republicans as we understand them... the parties would have fractured into, probably, the Greens, the Democrats, the Republicans and the Libertarians.. and I'm not sure which of the latter two Trump would've tried to join (if, indeed, he's have bothered with the exercise of becoming a politician).

You see one of the realities of having a PM is that when the PM says jump, the MPs say "how high?". Or, alternatively, they say "Make me" and you get a new PM more palatable to the caucus (traditionally... some arsebackwards parties try to extend this process to the party members as a whole, e.g. NZ's Labour party). Either way, you don't get big tent parties. And you also wouldn't get Trump due to all the supposedly never Trumpers (who would have been endowed with the power to actually shut him out)... unless you literally got him in a Hitler style "keep out the communists" backroom deal but in that situation who are the communists to Hitler's NSDAP and what are the other two conservative parties?

Actually... scratch that... this could be the fourth term of the Obama government. Term limits would go too. On the other hand, he was a senator so...

GG would probably be some relatively harmless public figure, former diplomat or military figure. An absence of an actual profile but a prior Wikipedia page is basically the only qualification... if that.

[Ariddia]

But while NZ is the only one of the former dominion Commonwealth Realms to have appointed indigenous governors general, I think Canada is the only one of the trio to have appointed governors general of minority background who were born outside Canada - indeed in Adrienne Clarkson and Michaëlle Jean, two successive women of colour born outside of Canada. Take that, Australia.

An indigenous Governor General for Australia would be a smart choice. Particularly as, contrary to New Zealand, the prospect on an indigenous Australian becoming Prime Minister still looks remote. Pat Dodson for Governor General? He seems to be respected on all sides.

Mildly interesting that while Canada by custom alternates anglophone and francophone GGs, relatively few of the latter since the practice began were born in Québec.

Perhaps someone feels that with a high proportion of recent Prime Ministers having been Quebecers, Quebec can't have it all.

[The Archregimancy]

But while NZ is the only one of the former dominion Commonwealth Realms to have appointed indigenous governors general, I think Canada is the only one of the trio to have appointed governors general of minority background who were born outside Canada - indeed in Adrienne Clarkson and Michaëlle Jean, two successive women of colour born outside of Canada. Take that, Australia.

An indigenous Governor General for Australia would be a smart choice. Particularly as, contrary to New Zealand, the prospect on an indigenous Australian becoming Prime Minister still looks remote. Pat Dodson for Governor General? He seems to be respected on all sides.

As a former resident of Australia - and married to an Australian passport holder - can I perhaps nominate 1978 Australian of the Year, Aboriginal land rights activist, 'National Living Treasure', and member of the Order of Australia [url=Galarrwuy Yunupingu]Galarrwuy Yunupingu[/url]?

Though Australians being Australian, they'd likely prefer Cathy Freeman - who wouldn't be a bad choice, come to think of it.

Perhaps someone feels that with a high proportion of recent Prime Ministers having been Quebecers, Quebec can't have it all.

I think it more likely a deliberate attempt on the part of Ottawa to emphasise that Canada's francophone heritage isn't limited to Quebec. Roméo LeBlanc, for example, was Acadian rather than French-Canadian. Jeanne Sauvé ticked the prairie province historical francophone community box. I wouldn't be surprised if someone in Ottawa kept a list of potential francophone Métis candidates for GG. I suppose it's all identity politics of a sort; but it strikes me as sensible identity politics within Canada's political structures.

[Mississippi River Country]

Governor General might be someone like Elizabeth Warren

Would she even want the position? It's a non-political, ceremonial one. The whole point is to be above politics.

Nah, it was a silly guess. I was stuck on the idea that it's mainly skillful administrators that would fill the role. She just looks the part of Canadian governor general to me.

[The Three Palins]

An indigenous Governor General for Australia would be a smart choice. Particularly as, contrary to New Zealand, the prospect on an indigenous Australian becoming Prime Minister still looks remote. Pat Dodson for Governor General? He seems to be respected on all sides.

As a former resident of Australia - and married to an Australian passport holder - can I perhaps nominate 1978 Australian of the Year, Aboriginal land rights activist, 'National Living Treasure', and member of the Order of Australia [url=Galarrwuy Yunupingu]Galarrwuy Yunupingu[/url]?

Though Australians being Australian, they'd likely prefer Cathy Freeman - who wouldn't be a bad choice, come to think of it.

The Labour Party should recruit her to Parliament, before the Liberal Party take her off the field by making her Governor-General. That would be the smart move, but could Liberal bear such disrespect to the Queen?

Maybe this was Tony Abbott's idea with the ridiculous Knights and Dames. To burden some future politicians with a useless but gratifying title they would have to give up to be taken seriously by Labour!

[Risottia]

she would be "Queen of the United States",

Queen of America, more likely.

who do you think would or should be the Prime Minister?

The Rt. Hon. Sir Bernard Sanders, KG, OM, Viscount Montpelier.

[The Archregimancy]

she would be "Queen of the United States",

Queen of America, more likely.

who do you think would or should be the Prime Minister?

The Rt. Hon. Sir Bernard Sanders, KG, OM, Viscount Montpelier.

Lord Burlington, surely?

Though now that I think about it, that could get awkward. Perhaps Her Majesty should insist on a duel on the shores of Lake Champlain between the current Duke of Devonshire and the junior Senator from Vermont over the rights to the title.