Notwithstanding the much vaunted checks & balances of the US republican model they are only there to stop things happening. The US legislator has a lawnmotor engine and Rolls Royce brakes. The US has the filibuster, the CMs have the guillotine. The US has impeachment which takes months, the CMs have no confidence votes which takes hours. The CMs have mechanisms like referendums and by-elections to change the political dynamics. The US has mid- terms and full term elections. The only game breaker is SCOTUS, oh and the 2nd Amendment option.
A Prime Minister just doesn’t have the job security a President does, and that’s by design - the PM isn’t Head of State, the sovereign is. It’s an unfair comparison; nonconfidence is way easier to get to than impeachment and removal.
In the face of a political (not constitutional) crisis; which model provides the, or for that matter any, circuit breaker for the return of good governance.
The Head of Government = Head of State model was a known flaw at the time the US adopted it.
It also demonstrates that the members of both US Houses have exactly the same job security as POTUS. There’s naught in it for them to resolve the stalemate at any time.
To paraphrase: “If you can’t solve the impasse, there’s good political capital to be gained by prolonging the problem.”
In the UK there are several parties who could clear the rubble to allow resolution. Just that, at the moment, their preference is for May to make the decision in their favour (and take all the rap) for them. It seem that they have neither the confidence of the Parliament or of the UK populace to make that decision.
Pretty much this. The caveat is…IF evidence comes out that Trump colluded with the Russians (or several other things that are being investigated), THEN Trump could be impeached and removed. I’m hopeful this is where things are headed, but if it doesn’t come out then, basically, it’s just a lot of yammering wrt Trump being impeached. It’s a pipe dream without real, solid evidence, which hasn’t come out…yet.
TM though? Since she isn’t the head of state and since a PM can basically be voted out with a no confidence vote, it could happen if/when the votes are there. End of story. The bar for getting rid of a US President is higher. Evidence? Simple…how many US Presidents have been removed via the impeachment process? Zero as far as I know, as Nixon jumped ship before it could happen. Even if you count him, however, that’s 1. While in the UK system, there have been several PMs who have been ousted because of no-confidence votes. Slam dunk.
I hate Trump as much as any 'doper, but until and unless we see some actual evidence he did the illegal shit I think we all know he did he isn’t going to be impeached. And it’s unreasonable to think the Republicans WOULD impeach him given what we know right now, today. Of course, on the other foot, if they don’t when actual solid evidence comes out, well, that’s a horse of a different smell…I think THAT could be the end of the Republican party, if/when it happens.
As an aside, with the government shut down, can impeachment proceed? i.e. are essential DoJ, or whatever departmental staff furloughed, or is it a totally political process which can be done by the legislators and their staff who are on-shift?