No, tech pretty much doesn't matter. The ahead malus is insane, so you'll never actually get ahead of the scheduled tech level. At the same time, the cost of being on schedule with technology is very low, so as anything but a tribe you'll probably never be behind. With the exception of one or two small countries that kept having rebels and barbarian invasions, all civilized countries at end game have almost perfectly identical tech levels. Additionally, beside the major tech level which unlocks a ton of stuff for every branch (5), tech really doesn't matter too much. Getting that a few years early (and more likely a few months) is worth very little.
The best government generally is the one that gives you the most ideas. Aristocratic/Military/Oligarchic republics all give three, but the aim should be to get dictatorship (4) and then imperium (5). The +0.01 loyalty for aristocratic republic is nice, but I never found any of the bonuses of any type of government worth worrying about.