Rick Samuel wrote:
SNIP

Question: Is your goverment able to stand on it's own feet, or is it
special intersts groups who do the talking, as in the US?


I read this to mean - or that you are implying at least - that our
government is controlled not directly by the people, but by special
interest groups. Care to guess what the single biggest and most
influencial lobbying organization in Washington D.C. is?

Hint - It is NOT:

- The Financial Industry
- The Insurance Industry
- The Energy Industry
- The Manufacturing Industry
- The Medical Industry
- The Legal Industry
- The Military/Aerospace Industry

IOW - it is none of the usual suspects that everyone gets all exercised
about. It is not the big eeeeeeeeeevil corporations or foreign governments,
or any of the boogeymen you hear blamed for all our ills.

In fact, the largest and most influential lobby in the US is ...
the envelope please:

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_is_the...ng_group_in_US

They don't necessarily spend the most amount of money, but the sheer
size of the AARP makes them the most influencial lobby in D.C. What they
don't spend in money, they sell in votes. It's also why you'll never
see real healthcare reform. In the words of a sign seen recently
at an anti-reform rally: "Don't replace Medicare with Socialism."
(Apparently without any sense of the irony / stupidity / irrationality
of said statement.)

So, don't blame the capitalists, the bankers, the lawyers, the influence
peddlers, the agents of foreign governments, or the evil geniuses in
the military-industrial complex. Blame grandma ...