Well, UFO does have a good point; the Photos government is, for lack of a more fancy phrase, all over the damn place. The government's huge and wide-branched (all those military branches like the Xylanis Waratica and Xylanis Opairis have a political end, meaning you've got, what, five government boards just for running the military? So with all the various Xylani that make up the Empire, the government gets big, quick.) The government, High Council especially, works tirelessly to keep corrupt people out of government positions, with a pretty damn merciless division of the Xylanis Tribunalis keeping things clean and smooth. Mr. Clean ain't got nothing on these folks
The government as a whole does it's best, but as I said, it can and does occasionally act a little heavy handed, if well-intended. Bear in mind, even though the government is big, it's not oppressive. People are allowed to and even encouraged to state their opinion of laws and acts put out by the government, to an extent; giving your opinion is one thing, starting riots are something entirely different.
At the head of things, the High Council keeps everything running. Councilmen are chosen from the most veteran politicians, and if the public doesn't like them, they're not getting in, plain and simple. Plus, with their being five councilmen, it keeps everything running in the best direction, as the people with the best ideals for the job get picked and the majority rule keeps things going in a positive direction.
