Spain has no functional 2nd chamber Jackie. It was provided for in the constitution but never developed. Power very much stays with the lower house and the central government. The regions have parliaments but these are closely supervised by the central government and the constitutional and other courts. Don't look to Spain for devolved power.
I'm afraid that our Senate here in Canada is more a fat-cat chamber. It is true that senators are appointed in proportion to the population of their home regions, but the problem is that they are appointed. PMs have historically tended to appoint hacks from their own party to what is in effect a sinecure. The appointees collect large salaries and enjoy various benefits until age 75, whether or not they earn their keep. There is no formal way of evaluating their performance, and if there were, no mechanism to unseat or discipline senators whose performance might be found wanting. Recently, a supposedly independent board has drawn up shortlists of candidates from each region from which the PM is meant to choose, but s/he is not actually bound to appoint someone from the list and some provinces don't even participate in this new procedure. I would therefore say that we, too, need serious reform of our second chamber. Or maybe we should just abolish it.
Spain has no functional 2nd chamber Jackie. It was provided for in the constitution but never developed. Power very much stays with the lower house and the central government. The regions have parliaments but these are closely supervised by the central government and the constitutional and other courts. Don't look to Spain for devolved power.
Thank you - I’ll edit that. I did a google search but nit enough! I know Switzerland has all the cantons, and Germany has a small second chamber too
Anything less than the closing scenes of V for Vendetta will be insufficient to rid us of this farce.
I'm afraid that our Senate here in Canada is more a fat-cat chamber. It is true that senators are appointed in proportion to the population of their home regions, but the problem is that they are appointed. PMs have historically tended to appoint hacks from their own party to what is in effect a sinecure. The appointees collect large salaries and enjoy various benefits until age 75, whether or not they earn their keep. There is no formal way of evaluating their performance, and if there were, no mechanism to unseat or discipline senators whose performance might be found wanting. Recently, a supposedly independent board has drawn up shortlists of candidates from each region from which the PM is meant to choose, but s/he is not actually bound to appoint someone from the list and some provinces don't even participate in this new procedure. I would therefore say that we, too, need serious reform of our second chamber. Or maybe we should just abolish it.