Toddy,
I may sound pig-headed and too proud to you, but I refuse to consider American democracy as a model for my country. As a democracy, yours may be older, but it is one where less than half the people ever think it's worth bothering to vote; they can't see the point because it's so manipulated by the media and the big corporations. Also, it has wreaked so much havoc (imposing dictatorships, etc) in so many countries all over the world that one has to wonder what kind of a democracy that is. I could go on and on, and before you say anything, yes, I could also find a lot of flaws in the Spanish democracy, but that's not my point.
I just wanted to remind you that, contrary to what most Americans seem to believe, people in Europe do not regard the US as the be-all and end-all of democracy, but quite the opposite.
Sorry, it's my opinion.
Cheers