"If I am needed for now, I'll lend what aid I can to keep the city on its feet," Zuko says, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "But ultimately, who governs the city is now for the people to decide. President Raiko's disappearance is no reason to revert to the old mode of governance, with unelected leaders from other nations taking charge."

Those might have been ideas he and Aang founded the city on, but times have changed since then. What Republic City needs most right now is stablility... but in the wider scope of things, it still needs to maintain its new political autonomy, too.