The Monarchy

 

Quelle: Der Spiegel 26/2006

 

Aufgabe:

Schreiben Sie einen zusammenhängenden Text zum Thema „Migration“.

 

1. Geben Sie kurz den Inhalt von Text und Grafik mit eigenen Worten wieder.

2. Nehmen Sie Stellung zu den Gründen und den Problemen, die mit der Migration verbunden sind.

3. Wie denken Sie persönlich im Hinblick auf die Situation in Ihrem Heimatland über diese Frage?

 

The British Government: a Brief Overview.

The System of Government

Britain is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, as head of the State. The British constitution, unlike those of most countries, is not set out [излагать] in a single document. Instead it is made up of a combination of laws and practices which are not legally enforceable [могущий быть принудительно осуществленным в судебном порядке], but which are regarded as vital to the working of government.

The Monarchy

The stablility of the British government owes much to the monarchy. Its continuity has been interrupted only once (the republic of 1649-60) in over a thousand years.

Today the Queen is not only the head of State, but also an important symbol of national unity. Her complete official royal title is 'Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms [королевство] and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith' [защитница веры], but she is usually referred to as Her Royal Highness or Queen Elizabeth.

According to the law the Queen is head of the executive branch of the government, an integral part of the legislature, head of the judiciary, the commander-in-chief of all the armed forces of the Crown and the 'supreme governor' of the established Church of England [англиканская церковь]. While that sounds like a lot of responsibility, the real power of the monarchy has been steadily reduced over the years to the point where the Queen is uninvolved in the day-to-day operation of the government. She is impartial and acts only on the advice of her ministers.

The Queen, the Queen Mother, Prince Charles and the other members of the royal family take part in traditional ceremonies, visit different parts of Britain and many other countries and are closely involved in the work of many charities.