But the concept of a teenager being elected to planetary leadership doesn't make sense on any level, unless you make some highly unreasonable assumptions. Such as Padme being some sort of child prodigy, or genetically engineered with advanced leadership skills. Or the entire population of Naboo being retarded.
I sort of assumed it's a sort of power-sharing ploy between groups of merchant families/nobles/whatever political divisions they have on Naboo. Perhaps they've formed a co-operative council and share power, but are wary of giving anyone the top position? So, to stop them fighting over it, they select an adolescent from a minor family - a well-educated, unusually mature, "presentable" adolescent and he or she takes the role of king or queen, but being only a teenager naturally they take advice from the council. So any power struggles are about having influence over the king/queen rather than trying to knock each other off the top spot. They all remain equals when it comes to official power? And the monarch is just the "pure and perfect" face of government and the leader that everyone can love and invest in without getting bogged down in - or torn apart by - political rivalries or imbalances of power?
Or something.
That's my convulated attempt to explain it.
