President and Prime Minister

Nations with Prime Minister Systems

Red-pure systems

Yellow and green—adapted systems

Benjamin Netanyahu

Manmohan Singh Shinzo Abe

David Cameron

Origins of Prime Minister

• Robert Walpole, 1721– De facto

• King George– Absenteeism– No interest– No English!

Modern Prime Minister system

• Benjamin Disraeli– 1868– 1874-1880

• Adopted as Official Title

in 1905

• “First among equals…”

Chairman or Chief?

• Chairman—facilitator of government

• Chief—forceful leader of government, leader of policy agenda

Presidential Systems--blue

Dilma Rouseff

Enrique Pen! a Nieto

Barack Obama

Goodluck Jonathan Hassan Rouhani

Origins of Presidential System

Hamilton’s Federalist Papers67-77

• Four year term, elected not hereditary• Limited length of term• Can be removed through impeachment• Congress can override veto• Commander-in-chief only of those in service • Can’t dissolve Congress• Treaties must be approved by Senate• In short, a president like the governor of New

York, not like a king

Federalist Number 69

• Need for energy in the executive• “a feeble executive implies feeble

execution of the government”• Unity in the executive• Limited length of terms• Adequate support• Competent powers• But safety against a tyrant

Federalist Number 70

Clerk or StewardRichard Neustadt

• [Theodore Roosevelt] took the view that the President as a "steward of the people" should take whatever action necessary for the public good unless expressly forbidden by law or the Constitution." I did not usurp power," he wrote, "but I did greatly broaden the use of executive power.“ whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/theodoreroosevelt

• Taft recognized that his techniques would differ from those of his predecessor. Unlike Roosevelt, Taft did not believe in the stretching of Presidential powers. He once commented that Roosevelt "ought more often to have admitted the legal way of reaching the same ends.“ whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/williamhowardtaft

Churchill and FDR

Bush, Blair, and Iraq

Obama and Peña Nieto

Obama and Netanyahu

  Parliamentary System Presidential System

Legislative Branch

Parliament elected by voters. The majority party in Parliament chooses the prime minister.

Congress elected by voters. Legislative and executive functions are separate.

Chief Executive(Government Head)

Prime minister who heads council of ministers, or "Cabinet"

President, elected by voters, nominates cabinet members.

Head of State Often a constitutional monarch. Legislatures often choose a ceremonial president, who acts as head of state.

President is head of state.

Elections Prime minister can call new elections.

Held at fixed intervals.

Political Parties Often a multiparty system. Government is formed by a ruling coalition of cooperating parties.

Usually a two-party system with third parties holding marginal power.

Examples Israel, Great Britain, and her former colonies, such as India, Japan.

The United States, Mexico, Nigeria and Brazil.

Presidential System Advantages

• Separation of Powers/Checks and Balances

• Direct Mandate

• Executive authority/decisive authority

• Stability

Presidential System Disadvantages

• Independent power can lead to authoritarianism

• Separation of Powers/Gridlock

• Difficulty in leadership change

Prime Minister System Advantages

• Quicker Legislative Action

• Collective Cabinet Authority—diversity in leadership

• Flexibility in Change of Power—votes of no confidence

• Resistance to authoritarianism

Prime Minister System Disadvantages

• Indirect election of prime minister

• No separation of powers—executive authority less checked

• No single executive—first among equals

• One party dominance

• Potential instability