Representative Renovation

“So, why did you decide to help us stop Trowser?” Princess Plum asked Marion as they headed toward the Cloud Kingdom. “We could do it on our own.”

“Truthfully, things have been such a mess in the normal world that I just needed a break. An adventure to stop a giant turtle monster seemed like the perfect cure for my dull life.”

Princess Plum nodded. “I see. And you have never visited the Power Star Lands before? What do you think of our kingdoms?”

“Very impressive,” said Marion. “Although I do wish I had gotten to see the Renovation Kingdom before its destruction. If I hadn’t been a plumber, I think I would have gotten into the kitchen renovation business. I must say, though, have you ever considered transitioning your kingdom over to a representative democracy? Kingdoms are so out of touch these days.”

“Representative democracy?” Princess Plum said.

“Yeah, it’s a form of government where people vote for someone to represent their interests in parliament, where all the decisions are made. Indirectly, the people vote for a president to be in charge of the country.”

“So people would vote for me to be their ruler, and instead of being a princess, I would be a president?”

“Well, not necessarily,” said Marion. “You wouldn’t be the ruler at all unless you had a campaign to be elected as one of these representatives in parliament. Maybe if you were popular enough, you could lead the parliament as the country’s president. Running on a platform of helping the best kitchen designers close to Melbourne rebuild their homes would be a good start.”

“But what if the people don’t vote for me? How do I continue to be the ruler of my country?”

Marion chuckled. “That’s the neat thing. You don’t.”

“I don’t? But I was born to rule the Fungus Kingdom.”

“Nobody should be born to rule anything,” Marion said. “Sure, you might be a good ruler that cares about the people, but what if the next ruler of the Fungus Kingdom isn’t so kind? How would that be fair to the mushroom people?”

Princess Plum didn’t have an answer to that.

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