Had we a traditional aristocracy, I don't think they'd like him much. His father was a poor ex-soldier, driven to his death by a government that oppressed and exploited its citizens to maintain its military might. Suffering through that is what drove him to found his own country and rule it fairly. I won't say he doesn't make decisions I don't agree with at times, but they're never made at the expense of our people.

[And at times he's seen him agonize over those decisions.]

Our little country is a bit different from most, certainly very different from any in our world. Most of them are very much like what you speak of, some even worse.