Awesome Sites: Leadership in Trying Times

Thanks to Wikicommons

We at USDemocrazy are always impressed by strong leaders. For this reason, our editors are a constant source of disappointment.

So, with the news late last week of President Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize, we decided to dedicate this week’s Awesome Sites collection from the World Wide Web to the websites of  world leaders!

We’ve got all sorts… and they are quite varied and curious.

• Canada is the land of moose and maple syrup. Here the government is led by the Prime Minister, presently Stephen Harper , who is selected with the confidence of Parliament by the Governor-General, currently Michaelle Jean.
• United Kingdom has tea and scones and also has the fabulous Queen. She appoints the Prime Minister, presently Gordon Brown, with the confidence of Parliament.

Beyond the Ditch, as the French call the English Channel, lies the land of wine and cheese, France. The French Republic has both a President (Nicholas Sarkozy) and a Prime Minister (François Fillon).

• Germany the land of sausages and beer is led by a Chancellor, presently Angela Merkel. The President of Germany, presently Horst Köhler, appoints the chancellor with the confidence of the Bundestag, a legislative body which works like a parliament.
• Italy functions similarly, having a President, presently Giorgio Napolitano, who appoints the Prime Minister, now Silvio Berlusconi, with the confidence of parliament.
• Russia is similar to France. There is a President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev right now, who appoints a Prime Minister, currently Vladimir Putin.
• In far off Japan, the Emperor functions similar to the monarch in the U.K. Emperor Akihito is the head of state. There is a Prime Minister that is chosen by Japan’s people and their representatives.  Japan’s Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama came to power after his Democratic Party won control of the Diet (parlaiment) in a recent historic election.