President and Prime Minister

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President and Prime Minister
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Nations with Prime Minister Systems

• Red-pure systems
• Yellow and greenadapted systems

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Shinzo Abe
Manmohan Singh

Benjamin Netanyahu
David Cameron
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Origins of Prime Minister

• Robert Walpole, 1721
• De facto
• King George
• Absenteeism
• No interest
• No English!

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Modern Prime Minister system

• Benjamin Disraeli
• 1868
• 1874-1880
• Adopted as Official Title
• in 1905
• First among equals

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Chairman or Chief?

• Chairmanfacilitator of government
• Chiefforceful leader of government, leader of
  policy agenda

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Presidential Systems--blue
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Enrique Pen?a Nieto
Barack Obama
Dilma Rouseff
Goodluck Jonathan
Hassan Rouhani
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Origins of Presidential System
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Hamiltons Federalist Papers67-77
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Federalist Number 69

• 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
• Cant dissolve Congress
• Treaties must be approved by Senate
• In short, a president like the governor of New
  York, not like a king

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Federalist Number 70

• 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

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Clerk or StewardRichard Neustadt
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• 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/theodorero
  osevelt
• 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

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Churchill and FDR
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Bush, Blair, and Iraq
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Obama and Peña Nieto
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Obama and Netanyahu
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  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.
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Presidential System Advantages

• Separation of Powers/Checks and Balances
• Direct Mandate
• Executive authority/decisive authority
• Stability

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Presidential System Disadvantages

• Independent power can lead to authoritarianism
• Separation of Powers/Gridlock
• Difficulty in leadership change

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Prime Minister System Advantages

• Quicker Legislative Action
• Collective Cabinet Authoritydiversity in
  leadership
• Flexibility in Change of Powervotes of no
  confidence
• Resistance to authoritarianism

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Prime Minister System Disadvantages

• Indirect election of prime minister
• No separation of powersexecutive authority less
  checked
• No single executivefirst among equals
• One party dominance
• Potential instability