>>Here we can only vote for a party in a general election. The leader of that party is automatically named the Prime Minister.
>
>No, in a federal election you may only vote for a candidate in your riding.

And, to my mind, that's the weakest point in a parliamentary system. What if, in my district, the candidate of the party I prefer, is a jerk? Do I hold my nose and vote for him so that my preferred party has a better choice of ruling, or do I vote for the better opposition candidate?

In the US system, my vote for a Congressman is independent of my vote for President.

Tamar