THE POLITICAL EXECUTIVESSEM 1, 2015/2016PSCI 2210SECTION 1 AND 2

PRESIDENTIAL GOVERNMENTFeatures :1) Direct election of the president2) Fixed terms of offices for the

president- gives him the autonomy as he cannot be brought down. Separation of powers.

3) No overlap between executives and legislature – Executive cannot sit in the assembly. Legislators must resign if they want to serve in government.

4) President is the head of state

AdvantagesAdvantage 1 : Check on the

majority rule of legislature – Use veto point in the legislative process. The most obvious is in the case of divided government. Hence, even if the president and members of legislative are from the same party – president will carry out his rule seriously, by ensuring that policies are not being undone in a hurry.

….Advantage 2 : National mandate :

President can claim national mandate as he is elected directly by people. This mandate is needed when the legislature is controlled by a party other than the President’s.

DISADVANTAGES 1) Difficult to remove unpopular president : Difficult

unless he is willing to resign or if the legislature decide to impeach him. So, the country is stuck with unpopular president until next election.

In Brazil (2015) – the legislature opened impeachment proceeding against the President by accusing her of violating the country’s fiscal laws and manipulating government finances to help her re-elected last year.

2) Gridlock between executives and legislature – when president’s political party does not hold majority seats in legislature. But those who dislike government’s program sees this as benefit.

….3) Authoritarianism – Presidents enjoy the

power by trying to amend the constitution – if they are tired with check and balances. Thus, as president’s power increases- Parliament become the rubber stamp, political opponents may face repression and elections may be rigged.

The legislatures also may go along the authoritarian steps as presidents are head of state and government. In time of crisis, they function as a symbol of a country – solve the problem

ExampleEgyptIn 1980, its president removed

the two terms limits on presidency to 6 years with no limit on the number of terms – Hosni Mubarak enjoyed it when he served as the President of Egypt for 30 years.

PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENTFeatures :1) Governing parties emerge from

assembly. Hence government can be dismissed through vote of confidence. Executives are both legislature and executives. Vote of confidence indicate legislative supremacy in political system. PM in India and Japan assume power only after receiving a majority of support from legislature.

…2) Plural executive – form of

cabinet ministers in which PM is first among equals.

[ a member of a group who is on the same level as the other members, but who in fact has slightly more responsibility and power]

3) Head of state is normally separate from the post of PM.

FORMS OF GOVERNMENT IN PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT1) Majority government

2) Minority and coalition government

1) Majority governmentBritain. Single party with secure majority. The

other party in government is known as opposition parties.

Executives dominate assembly, controlling its agenda. Cabinet is the top committee of the state.

When party having majority seats, easier for it to pass legislative proposals. However , party discipline is needed for such efficiency.

…Party discipline : Is maintained when

parliamentary deputies (MPs) of a particular party vote unanimously as a bloc / the extent to which members of legislature follow the direction of their leaders. Hence, non-party discipline exists when their own MPs acting against their own parties.

In Canada, MPs who does not adhere to party discipline will be punished.

Non-party disciplineNon-party discipline: In 2002, a few of

Conservatives party [ support traditional values] support Bills that give permission to same gender couples for adoption. The votes (by the Conservatives) show the incompetence by political party.

Tony Blair (2003) – War on Iraq- did not get full support from Labour Mps to support his proposal. However, Tony Blair took the country to war in Iraq and passed its enough Tories (Conservatives) voted with it to offset the third of Labour members who deserted it.

…Each party has a Whip office to

ensure backbenchers ( ordinary MPs, non-Cabinet members) to vote as the party leader requires.

2) Coalition GovernmentA government which is consist of

two or more parties that agree to share cabinet posts usually to form a voting majority in the legislature.

3 types : 1) Majority coalition2) Minority coalition3) Single party minority

government

1) Majority coalitionTo or more parties with majority of

seats join together in government . Example : Germany in 2013Majority coalition – CDU and SPDResults of the election 2013:CDU : 41.5%SPD : 26%Green: 8.4%Left Party : 8.6 %

….Example :Party A : 44Party B : 42Party C : 14

Coalition : AB, AC, BC

2) Minority coalitionFormal coalition or informal

alliances between parties that lack parliamentary majority.

More complex than majority coalition, the more parties there are, the more possibilities there are for a winning coalition, more partners , more intra-coalition conflicts

…Example:Party A : 30 Coalition : ABC, ABD,Party B : 19 ABE, ABF, ABG,

BCDE, Party C: 12 CDEFGHParty D : 9Party E : 8 Party F : 8Party G : 7Party H : 7

3) Minority government Single party cabinets. Government which is

formed by the largest party. Minor parties can hold the balance of power in the lower house.

ExampleAustralian Parliamentary Election 2010:Australian Labour Party (ALP) =72Coalition (Liberals, Nationals and Country Liberal Party) = 72Independents = 4Greens = 1Nationals = 1

…The ALP and the Coalition emerged with 72

seats each in the House of Representatives. Hence, each side is required the support of at least four additional members in order to attain a majority in the House and form government.

The ALP, which remained in office as caretaker government, secured an early agreement with the Australian Greens for the support of the Greens member (Adam Bandt).

…. Both of the major parties

conducted negotiations with the four non-aligned independent members. 

But the ALP secured further agreements for the support of three of the four independents which meant that it was able to reach the requisite 76 votes and form a minority government.

Advantages 1. Expand representation of executive-

permits the small party to participate directly in decision-making process

2. Increases the level of bargaining and compromise in the executive branch – Coalition parties are compelled to work with one another on the policies they pursue. Major parties must then take into account of concerns and preferences of other parties.

…3. Flexibility and adaptability –

Permits legislature to make and unmake government (vote of no confidence). Hence, if parties that form governing coalition cannot patch up their disagreements, new government maybe formed without having to wait for new election.

Disadvantages 1. Prolonged negotiation and policy

turmoil. Difficult to reach common accord on policies. Government is inefficient and ineffective.

2. Small party may gain a level of influence in the government that far outweighs their share of electoral support – Unfair as it gives too much power to the parties. Example: In Italy, (1981-1982), the PM came from a party that obtained 1.9% of votes.

…3. Instability in the government –

Vote of confidence can be abused as a means to remove government.

Example : 1945-2003, Italy had no fewer than 59 governments with a large number of them were coalition involving 3 or more parties. A few of these coalition governments lasted no more than few months or weeks.

Process of coalition government: a) Vote 1) Positive investiture vote – in order to

take office a new government must obtain majority support in parliament : Spain

2) Negative investiture vote – A new government takes office unless it is voted down by a majority in parliament : Sweden

3) No investiture votes- No formal parliamentary vote is required before new government takes office : Denmark

…b) Parties make joint agreement in

lengthy public statement. The package deals cover policies to be pursued and coalition’s rules of conduct.

c) A few constitutions instructs the Head of State to appoint largest party to initiate negotiations for a coalition. The leader of the largest party is known as the formateur.

Stability and instability1) Election rule - when coalition abide

to election rule. Election rule is an agreement among coalition partners that they will call an election if the coalition ends.

2) Constructive vote of no confidence – assembly must select new Prime Minister before it can dispose of the incumbent. Why ? To prevent legislature from bringing down a government without successor.

…..Example : In Germany, the head

of the government can only be voted out by Parliament only if it elects a new one. It has been carried out twice (1972 and 1982) and successful in 1982.