Parliamentary republic. Main characteristics

The parliamentary republic is a kind of republican form of government. The main difference between it and the monarchy is that the ruler in the country is replaceable and elective. The power of the head is considered a derivative of the voters or of the representative body.

Parliamentary republic. Symptoms

With this form of government, the president is only a constitutional head of state. The sphere of leadership of the ruler does not apply to the parliament and all its activities.

The parliamentary republic presumes that the head of the executive power is the prime minister (the Chancellor in Austria and the Federal Republic of Germany). It is he who carries out all policies. The Prime Minister and his government report to the parliament.

The Italian Constitution states that the president represents the unity of the whole people and is the head of the country. At the same time, another article of the Basic Law says that the leadership of the overall policy and the responsibility for its conduct lies with the head of the Council of Ministers. Thus, according to Italian constitutional norms, executive power is concentrated in the hands of the prime minister, but not the president.

Similarly, virtually all parliamentary republics determine the status of the president.

A somewhat uncharacteristic legal form for this form of government is present in the Austrian Constitution. The law states that the highest executive bodies include the federal president, state secretaries, federal ministers and members of the government of the lands. At the same time, the Constitution contains a very detailed list of presidential powers. This list makes it clear that the head of state is only a formal ruler.

The same situation is observed in the Basic Law of Greece.

It should be noted that the parliamentary republic as a form of government is built on the principle that the president acts as an "arbiter", balancing the branches of the state power. Thus, the place of the head of the country in the structure of bodies is determined, the scope of powers, the system of elections is established. Specificity of interaction with other authorities is also determined.

The powers of the head of a parliamentary republic are similar to the powers conferred on a constitutional monarch. And in the first, and in the second case, the power of the ruler is purely symbolic. At the same time, during the political crisis, the role of the head of state increases dramatically. Only the president is able to ensure the continuity of power, maintaining political stability.

The parliamentary republic (as a form of government) is typical for many countries. For example, such a political system is established in the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Hungary, Austria, Ireland and other powers. From the former Soviet republics only in Latvia a parliamentary republic has been established.

This form of government, of course, has positive and negative features.

The main advantage of the system is that the power in a larger volume is concentrated in one body. Decision-making is by majority of votes. In a parliamentary republic, there is no official or any body that can impede the implementation of parliamentary decisions.

In this system, borders of responsibility for political actions are looked through. In this case, the voter knows exactly who to blame for the setbacks.

It is also important that the government is formed directly by voters. During the elections, all candidates pass the original test of trust.

In the conditions of a parliamentary republic, the supremacy of the parliament excludes the concentration of power in the same hands.