Semi-presidential system
- Presidential system of government
- Semipräsidentielles system of government
- Parliamentary system of government
- Parliament bound executive power
- Party system
- Parliamentary monarchy
- Constitutional monarchy
- Absolute monarchy
- Overthrown constitutional government (de facto mostly military dictatorships )
- Other systems or unclear political situations
A semipräsidentielles system of government (or mixed presidential - parliamentary system of government ) has both elements of the parliamentary system as well as the presidential system. The term was introduced in 1970 by Maurice Duverger for the political system of France under the Fifth Republic. Later the term was expanded conceptually to describe mixed forms.
- 3.1 France
- 3.2 Germany
- 3.3 Austria
Features
In a presidential system, the president is elected by the people and the State is entitled to form the government, without having to take into account the composition of the parliament. Nevertheless, the President needs to work together with the Parliament, because it decides on laws. The best known example is the USA. In a parliamentary system, Parliament is not only responsible for laws, but also selects the government. In such a system the president has mostly ceremonial duties. As an archetype applies Britain, the Federal Republic of Germany is one of them.
A semipräsidentielles system of government similar to the presidential system with a directly elected president, who has an important task in forming a government. The government, however, is dependent on the confidence of Parliament and can only govern by means of which. There are thus at the head of the executive two people, the President and the head of government.
Whether one should assess a particular political system as semipräsidentiell depends not only on the written constitution, but also by the constitutional reality, the political practices. Normally, the Constitution stipulates that the president appoints government members, the appointment must be confirmed by the Parliament but that Parliament or the government may fall. The President may, therefore anyone appointed to the Government, the Parliament rejects. A system that works according to the Constitution semipräsidentiell, may be parliamentary in reality, because the President would appoint anyone who does not have the confidence of Parliament.
Heterogeneity of the concept and approaches
Problems of classification
In addition to the problem- prone discrepancy between the constitutional reality and the purely legal situation is similar in many cases the constellation between the head of state and head of government head of state in parliamentary systems. Furthermore, the President, in other cases an extreme supremacy, a strong influence factor over the head of government dar. This is especially true when there is no cohabitation exists. In the third problem, the President is anyway significantly more powerful than the prime minister asked.
Approaches to classification
Especially since not only the demarcation of Semipräsidentialismus of other government systems is very complex, but also the summarized under this system, governments differ partly strong, a more specific classification was attempted by subgroups to achieve.
The political scientist Soldner divided the semi-presidential systems again in premier -presidential and Presidential- parliamentary systems. The former describe a system of government in which the government is solely dependent on the confidence of Parliament after his appointment. However, to differentiate from the parliamentary system here has the president broad powers (such as Decree law, veto right to dissolve parliament, etc.). Case examples are France and Ukraine. When Presidential- parliamentary system, the President does not have such serious special rights, but this is the government, or at least the head of government permanently to both the confidence of the Parliament and by the President -dependent. Examples include Russia, Taiwan or even the Weimar Republic.
Only slightly different definition of Wolfgang Ismayr the subordinären types of semi-presidential system: Depending on the parliamentary majorities a president can be both stronger and weaker than in the presidential system in the semi-presidential system. Therefore Ismayr considers the term to be misleading, but naturalized in political science; he will not decide whether it is a private system type or variant of a presidential -parliamentary system. Instead, he preferred the distinction between parliamentary and presidential and Presidential- parliamentary systems. This distinction was made with regard to the systems in Eastern Europe since 1990. In Presidential- parliamentary system the president has particularly in view of the government far-reaching powers. Typically, he has the opportunity to the head of government or individual ministers, or at least the entire government to dismiss the result against the will of the parliamentary majority. Examples are Russia and Ukraine. In parliamentary- presidential system of government ( eg France) the President, however, has indeed no way the government or the Prime Minister to dismiss - this, as in the parliamentary system, only the parliamentary majority. However, he has much greater powers than in this, for example, often a separate legal regulation.
Examples
France
As before, the French political system is often cited as a classic example of a semi-presidential system of government. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President ( and formally dismissed by a resignation by the President ), and can be overthrown by the National Assembly by a vote of no confidence. The Government is therefore dependent on the confidence of both. The president has a significant abundance of power to the government.
The constitutional reality depends heavily on whether the president and the parliamentary majority belong to the same political camp. If this is so, then the President is the unique political leader who chooses the head of government. In the formation of a government, he nevertheless respected the wishes of its supporting government parties in parliament.
In 1986, however, it was the first time for the other case: President François Mitterrand was a socialist, but the Liberals and Conservatives in Parliament the majority. Mitterrand thus named the conservative Jacques Chirac as Prime Minister. One speaks of a cohabitation, the difficult " coexistence " of the two opposing political camps. The President may, on its own accents, especially in foreign policy. A cohabitation there was still except 1986-1988 1993-1995 and from 1997 to 2002.
However, the independence of the semi-presidential system of government is put the system type in question because there just is no continuous, distinct from parliamentary and presidential systems of government, government practice straight from the example France. Rather phases of a parliamentary government practice alternated in France a presidential government practice in party political agreement between the president and the parliamentary majority and phases in times of cohabitation from.
Germany
At the time of the Weimar Republic the President appointed in Germany, according to the Weimar Constitution of 1919 the Chancellor and on his suggestion, the Minister (Article 53). The Reichstag but was allowed to the national government or any individual member of the government overthrow (Article 54 of the Weimar Constitution ). In order for the constitution imitated their predecessors from the Empire, which the emperor appointed the Chancellor, but also the Parliament had the opportunity to depose the government ( October Constitution).
In practice, however, the president had often actively seek to form a government, in which case his political preferences could play a role. So was Reich President Paul von Hindenburg in 1930 against further government participation of the SPD and released in 1931, Minister Joseph Wirth, who had left him.
The Basic Law since 1949, it is the German parliament, which elects the Federal Chancellor. The Federal President can only support the first proposal by a law suit his or her candidate. However, this must be elected by the Bundestag with an absolute majority. If a candidate elected only by relative majority, the President may consider the situation and may call for new elections. The system of the Federal Republic is generally considered clearly parliament.
Austria
In Austria, the Weimar system in 1929 with a - largely taken strong president and renewed in 1945 - potentially. The Austrian Federal President has little influence on the formation of a government, if there is a clear majority in parliament, because the Austrian government must be doubly legitimized by the president and parliament. According to the Federal Constitutional Law of the Federal President of the National Council a selectable citizen appoints its discretion to Chancellor, who proposes the rest of the government. The dismissal of the Chancellor or the entire government is done at the discretion of the President and without countersignature or proposal, the dismissal of individual members of the government is only possible through the National Council or on a proposal of the Federal Chancellor by the President. The resolution of the National Council are made by simple majority of the National Council itself or at its own discretion by the President on recommendation of the government. This competence of the Federal President has only happened once in 1930 came to fruition. Since 1945, each federal government a parliamentary majority behind him had (or was at least tolerated majority ) and could result in action against the Parliament for a national crisis, the Federal President of the Second Republic have waived the exercise of those rights so far. Ronald Barazon said: " The Austrian Federal President is the political fire department in the country. If no government is concluded when Parliament is not working, in short, if there is imminent danger, then it is the responsibility of the Federal President to govern the country and to restore orderly conditions. To therefor to have the appropriate legitimacy of the Federal President is elected directly by the people. " To both the presidential and the parliamentary possibilities offered by the Federal Constitution, to do justice, Austria is sometimes also referred to as" parliamentary Semipräsidialrepublik ". Often this situation is reduced to a pure parliamentary system.