3. Parliamentary system: Fusion of power

        People elect Members of House of Commons
        Majority of MPs (commons) elect Prime Minister and his cabinet
            (people elect only one representative)
          Prime minister, cabinet members all have been elected as MPs
        So executive and legislative powers are "fused" together
                    (completely linked, integrated, with one base of legitimacy/voting)

        Contrast Separation of Power

            People elect executive and legislators (and sometimes judges)
                  separately
            People elect several representatives, each can claim legitimacy
                Elected legislators can NOT serve in cabinet, must resign legislative post.
                (e.g.. Sec. of Defense Cohen)
            So executive and legislative powers are separate,
                (separate bases of legitimacy/voting).

            Note:   House of Lords, has little power, can delay and debate legislation.

                    Ultimately, it can not block legislation.

                    Historically, it was mainly hereditary.
                    Prime minister could appoint "Life Peers"
                    Nov. 1999 reforms: 92 Hereditaries, 544 Life Peers
                    New discussions:
                        Elect some of the lords?
                        Appointment by special commission?

    a. elected by majority of Parliament
    b. resigns if there is a vote of no confidence
    c. May dissolve parliament, call for new elections
    d. Must hold election within fixed time (5 yr. in England)
 

5. Party Systems

    a. If there two disciplined parties, one party has majority,
        Prime Minister is safe from vote of no confidence
          If the PM becomes unpopular, the Party may vote for a different leader
            Example:  Great Britain (incl. replacement of Thatcher)
        Opposition party provides "shadow cabinet," "shadow ministers"

    b. If there are several parties, a multi-party coalition is needed
        to elect a Prime Minister .

     Classic party distribution:
        No party has majority
        Many coalitions are possible
 
 

        Any coalition can break up, and the Prime Minister will fall

            Examples: Italy, Israel, France, Russia
 

    c. Party system is influenced by voting system
               Single Member District   (US, England)
               Proportional Representation (PR)
                     most of European continent, common elsewhere.
                       PR restored in Italy 2005 after it was dropped in 1993
                                       Italian system very unstable, parliament dissolved 2007,

                Adaptations to reduce tendencies towards instability:
                    Runnoff election to ensure winner has a majority (France)
                    Threshold requirement:
                        no party gets a seat in Parliament unless it has at least 5% of vote (Germany)

UK election 1979 (?)

PARTY	% VOTE	% SEATS (smd)	% SEATS (pr)
Conservative	42	52	42
Labour	34	42	34
Liberal	18	3	18
Scottish Nationalists	2	1	2
Welsh Nationalists	1	0	1
North Irish	3	2	3

UK election 2005
 

amplification working majority    pressure towards 2 party system stable government    unfair to disbursed minorities

representation in proportion to electoral support pressure to multi- party system coalition governments, unstable fair representation

 

        Because both SMD and PR have advantages and disadvantages
            many recent constitutions use both (Mexico, Japan, Russia)

6. Party Discipline in England, much of Europe
    Party controls nomination process (no primaries)
    Party funds candidates (no individual fund raising)
    Party controls careers of politicians
    People vote for party, not individual candidates

7. House of Commons is clearly the dominant House;
    House of Lords can introduce, debate and delay legislation; can not block laws

8. Unitary, centralized system.
    Regional and local administrators
    No elected local governments, local legislators, local courts, local taxes
    Central government controls local gov't (schools, police, etc.)

9. Highly professional, well educated, powerful bureaucracy.
    (often trained at Oxford or Cambridge -- Ox-bridge)
 
 
 

RESULT:
 
 

English Parliamentary democracy	US Presidential democracy
Majority can carry out its mandate    No obstacles, no excuses	Minorities can block government by    Obstructing in one house    Judicial challenge    bend implementation    contrary state laws
Ruling party is responsible for results	ruling party blames others for problems
People vote for clear choice	People vote for many  representatives,  have many other opportunities for inputs
Democracy to do things	Democracy to stop tyrannical government

 
 

10. Examples of Multi-Party Coalitions in other countries of Europe

Sweden election Sept 2006, 7 parties win seats.

Although Social Democrats win the most seats, they don't have a majority and can't form a coalition with other parties.  A Center-Right coalition forms of four parties and puts together a new government.  See: 1 | 2
 

Germany election Sept 2005, 5 parties win seats
 

French Elections, June 16, 2002
 

Italy Elections, April 9, 10, 2006
 

This election/coalition was unstable and fell after 9 months: Italy goverment falls