by Peter Joyce
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The work of the executive branch of government is performed by two distinct sets of people. These are politicians and paid, permanent officials. As we will consider the workings of the latter, termed ‘bureaucracy’, in Chapter 10, the discussion here will concentrate on the role performed by politicians who give leadership to the executive branch of government.
The political control of a state’s affairs is under the direction of a broadly constituted group of political appointees. We usually refer to these as ‘the government’. For example, in the UK the government consists of the prime minister, cabinet and junior ministers. In America it is composed of the president and the cabinet. Within liberal democracies, governments tend to be either parliamentary or executive.
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The core executive
The term ‘core executive’ refers to those bodies, agencies or procedures that are responsible for co-ordinating policy and managing conflict within national government. In the UK, the core executive includes the prime minister, the cabinet and cabinet committees, the treasury, the cabinet office, government departments and informal meetings which are frequently centred on the prime minister.
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In a parliamentary system of government the executive branch of government is drawn from the legislature and is also collectively accountable to this body for its actions. The office of head of state is separate from the chief executive, the latter being the leader of the largest political party (or coalition of parties) commanding support in the legislature, who is called upon by the head of state to form a government. Its tenure in office is dependent on retaining the legislature’s support, and chief executives typically possess the ability to recommend the dissolution of the legislature to the head of state which triggers a general election. Countries which have this form of government include the UK and Germany.
In the UK, the prime minister, members of the cabinet and junior ministers are members of parliament (most being drawn from the House of Commons). The government operates with the consent of parliament and especially the House of Commons, which possesses the ultimate sanction, that of passing a motion of ‘no confidence’ in it which requires it to resign. In Germany, the chancellor is appointed from the largest party in the Bundestag (or the one which is able to construct a coalition which possesses a majority in that house). The chancellor possesses considerable power, which includes control over economic policy, defence and foreign affairs and the appointment of ministers who constitute the federal government.
Executive domination of the legislature often gives prime ministers considerable power in such systems of government. There are, however, limitations to this. A government with a small, or no, majority may have to rely on members drawn from other parties to sustain it in office. In this circumstance, the prime minister may have to agree to demands made by other politicians on whom the government is forced to rely or face the threat of defeat. Coalition government may further restrict a prime minister’s power.
A presidential system of government is a political structure in which different personnel compose the executive and legislative branches. The executive branch is elected for a fixed term and also occupies the position of head of state. The legislature has no formal relationship with the executive branch of government other than its ability to remove the president through the process of impeachment, and the president does not have the power to dissolve the legislature and call a general election. This system of government is found in both North and South America.
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Collective ministerial responsibility
The mechanics of the process of collective ministerial responsibility vary. In the United Kingdom, a vote of ‘no confidence’ in the government by the House of Commons would usually result in the government’s resignation and a general election. This happened in 1979 when the House of Commons expressed no confidence in the Labour government headed by James Callaghan.
To oust a government in Germany, however, the Bundestag is required to pass what is known as a ‘constructive vote of no confidence’. This entails a vote of no confidence in the chancellor coupled with the selection of a replacement (who is required to obtain an absolute majority vote in the Bundestag). This process occurred in 1982 when Chancellor Schmidt was replaced by Chancellor Kohl following the decision of the Free Democrats to form a coalition government with the Christian Democrats.
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Presidential powers are limited by the need to secure the legislature’s support for certain executive actions. Thus one major problem faced by chief executives is how to mobilize the legislature to secure the attainment of their policy goals.
There are, however, hybrid systems which include elements of parliamentary and presidential systems of government. In Israel, for example, the prime minister has been directly elected since 1996 but is responsible to parliament (the Knesset). The French system of government is also an example of this, which we now discuss in more detail.
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Insight
Although the characteristics of executive branches of government differ in parliamentary and presidential systems of government, in some countries they exhibit features of both systems of government. France is an example of this, where powers in the executive branch of government are divided between the president and prime minister.
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THE FRENCH SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT
In France, the traditional division which exists between parliamentary and presidential systems of government has been obscured by the emergence of dual leadership within the executive branch of government.
The 1958 Constitution established the new office of president with powers additional to those normally associated with a head of state. The president was given a very wide range of functions and powers with which to perform them. These included acting as guarantor of national independence and protecting the functioning of public powers and the continuity of the state. Key duties included appointing the prime minister, presiding over the cabinet and acting as commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The president possesses a suspensive veto whereby the National Assembly can be asked to look again at a measure they have passed. Special emergency powers can also be exercised by the president. The power and prestige of the presidency has grown, especially since direct election was introduced in 1962. The ‘monarchical drift’ of the office was acknowledged by the new president, Jacques Chirac, during the 1995 presidential election. Since 2002, the term of office for the president is five years and it is seen as France’s key political prize.
The division of power between the president and prime minister is of central importance to an understanding of the operations of the French system of government. A major role of the president is to appoint the prime minister. A newly appointed prime minister does not have to seek a specific vote of confidence from the national assembly, although he or she is accountable to that body. In making such a choice, however, the president is constrained by the political composition of the National Assembly. It follows, therefore, that the power of the president is greatest when the president’s party controls the National Assembly, when the prime minister is effectively a presidential nominee.
However, if the party affiliation of the president and the majority in the legislature differ, the president is forced to select a prime minister and a government which enjoy the support of the National Assembly. The prime minister is more likely to be assertive in such situations since he or she possesses a separate power base and is not totally reliant on presidential support to obtain or remain in office. This may thus reduce the president’s power and occurred between 1986 and 1988 and between 1993 and 1995, when a socialist president (Mitterrand) was forced to coexist with a right-wing government dominated by the Gaullists. It occurred subsequently (between 1997 and 2002) when the Gaullist President Chirac was forced to appoint the socialist Lionel Jospin as prime minister following the latter’s victory in the elections to the National Assembly. Fo
llowing the 2002 presidential election, however, President Chirac was able to appoint a conservative politician (Jean-Pierre Raffarin) as prime minister. He served until 2005 when he was replaced by another conservative, Dominique de Villepin (who was not a member of the National Assembly), who in turn was succeeded by François Fillon.
In such periods of cohabitation, however, a president is far from impotent. Ultimately, it is possible to dissolve the legislature.
In September 2000, electors voted in a referendum to reduce the presidential term in France to five years. As the elections for the presidency and National Assembly are held close together, this reform will reduce future periods of cohabitation at the expense of potentially sacrificing the greater degree of stability provided when the president serves an elongated term in office.
Question
With the use of examples, list the main differences between presidential and parliamentary forms of government.
Relations within the executive branch
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Insight
Leadership in the executive branch of government may be exercised by one person – the chief executive – or a group of people – the cabinet – headed by the chief executive.
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Leadership within the government is exercised by a chief executive. This person appoints other members of the government and usually exercises a pre-eminent position within it, being regarded as the nation’s ‘leader’.
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Key functions of the chief executive
A chief executive carries out a number of functions that include:
the initiation of proposals for government policy – Often these derive from the party’s election manifesto, although chief executives are also required to respond to unforeseen issues which require the government’s attention.
overseeing the administration and execution of policy and the overall conduct of the government – The exercise of this strategic role may mean that the chief executive intervenes in the specific activities performed by individual government departments. As the result of such activities the work of government is given a degree of coherence.
mobilizing support for the policies of the government – This may involve liaison with members of the legislature or seeking to rally public opinion in support of government initiatives.
acting in times of crisis when decisive action is required – Firm leadership is usually best provided by a single person.
appointing (and dismissing) other members of the executive branch.
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There are broadly two models which describe the manner in which political power is allocated within the executive branch of government. Power may be held by the chief executive alone. This is the case in America where the president is regarded as the main source of power within the executive branch of government. He is separately elected and can thus claim an electoral mandate to initiate recommendations concerning public policy. Alternatively, power may be held by a group of individuals who include the chief executive and other leading members of the government.
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The American cabinet
The American Constitution made no reference to the concept of cabinet government. However, George Washington commenced the practice of holding regular meetings with senior members of his administration. Other presidents followed suit and the cabinet has now become an accepted institution of American political life. However, cabinet government (in the sense of a group of equals meeting regularly and making collective decisions concerning policy) has never assumed the importance attached to it in countries such as the United Kingdom.
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The term ‘cabinet government’ is used to describe this latter situation and is more likely to be found in parliamentary systems of government.
The cabinet is recognized in Germany’s Basic Law and given a number of powers. These include the right to introduce legislation and the power to veto laws that increase expenditure or decrease income. In the United Kingdom, there is a strong tradition of cabinet government. This suggests that political power is shared between the chief executive and other members of the government. Major issues of public policy are discussed by all members of the government as a team, presided over by the prime minister. In recent years, however, the nature of cabinet government in this country has been subject to debates which have questioned the ability of a small group of people to determine major issues of policy. It has been suggested that the United Kingdom’s system of government has become ‘prime ministerial’ or ‘presidential’. In the following section we examine these arguments in more detail.
HOW CHIEF EXECUTIVES ARE CHOSEN
The way in which chief executives are chosen varies widely as the following examples show.
In the UK, the chief executive is the leader of the largest party following a general election. This person is formally appointed as prime minister by the head of state, the monarch.
In Germany, the chief executive, or chancellor, is elected by the Bundestag from the ranks of the largest party or coalition of parties following a national election. It also elects a cabinet.
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Insight
In America the chief executive is termed the president and is elected by popular vote every four years.
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In the United States, the chief executive (the president) is directly elected, although this official is technically chosen by a body termed the ‘electoral college’. Elections to choose the American president are organized by the states. Each of these is allocated a number of votes in the electoral college, which comprises the total number of representatives sent by each state to both houses of Congress. There were 538 electoral college votes for the 2004 presidential election. Popular vote determines which candidate wins a particular state and all of that state’s electoral college vote is allocated for that victor regardless of the size of his or her winning majority.
The electoral college vote is physically cast in Washington by a slate of electors consisting of party officials chosen by the party whose presidential candidate wins the state. These electors are formally approved by each state legislature and are pledged to support the candidate who won their state (although in only 16 states are individual electors required by state law to cast their votes for that candidate). The votes cast in the electoral college are transmitted to the Senate, which counts them and formally declares the result of the presidential election.
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Result of the 2008 American presidential election
Candidate
Popular vote
Electoral college vote
Barack Obama
69,499,428
365
John McCain
59,950,323
173
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Cabinet government in the United Kingdom
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Insight
The UK has a system of cabinet government, although in recent years the prime minister has occupied a key role in taking key political decisions.
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The extent to which the cabinet operates as the decision-making body at the very heart of government, exercising general superintendence over policy and providing cohesion to its affairs, has been questioned. The following arguments have been put forward to explain the decline of cabinet government in the UK.
MINISTERIAL PREOCCUPATION WITH INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENTS
It is argued that most members of the cabinet are preoccupied with the task of running their departments and thus lack the time or the inclination to involve themselves in affairs other than those with which they are directly concerned. Further, ministers in charge of departments may become parochial and seek to advance their department’s interests, which may be to the detriment of concern for overall planning.
GOVERNMENT BY CLIQUE
It has also been asserted that the extent of the work of contemporary government and its specialized nature means that decisions are made in for
ums other than at cabinet meetings, which are usually held weekly. These alternative arenas of policy making include cabinet committees, which operate within the framework of the cabinet system. Alternatively, decisions may be made using more informal structures which may be divorced from the structure of the cabinet. These include liaison between ministers, or informal groupings centred on the prime minister that may comprise ministers and other advisers. It is thus asserted that the cabinet becomes sidelined and collective decision making is replaced by cliques organized around the prime minister.
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Cabinet committees
These enable ministers or civil servants to examine issues in depth, perhaps reporting the conclusions of their deliberations to the full cabinet. There are two types of such committee, permanent and ad hoc, and these are serviced by the cabinet secretariat. Key committees are chaired either by the prime minister or by the deputy prime minister.
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PRIME MINISTERIAL GOVERNMENT
It is also argued that modern prime ministers dominate the proceedings of their governments. General elections tend to place considerable prominence on the party leader, thus enhancing the status of that person should he or she become prime minister. The prime minister possesses the power to appoint and dismiss other members of the government and manages the workings of the cabinet through the control of the agenda and summing up its proceedings. The development of a prime ministerial office has further increased the power of this official by providing a bureaucracy which gives advice on major issues of policy. This ensures that the prime minister possesses much information on the key affairs of state. It is thus argued that the UK’s government has become prime ministerial or even presidential in nature, whereby the prime minister personally takes major decisions affecting the internal political and external relations of the UK.