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Chapter by Chapter ResourcesChapter 4 Governments and Parliaments: A long way from equality
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By far the majority of Europe’s heads of state do not wield or even share executive power, even if they are directly elected. This does not, however, mean they have no role or influence. Executive power in Europe is wielded by governments which are accountable to and rely on the support of parliament. They are led by cabinets comprised of ministers from one or more parties, many of whom retain their parliamentary seats. In theory, they are co-ordinated, if not controlled, by a prime minister whose powe
r – which some argue is on the rise – varies between countries but also according to circumstances.
The majority of European governments are coalitions between two or more parties. Most command a majority in parliament – sometimes a much bigger one than they actually need. A surprising number, however, are minority administrations. Which type of government forms is partly a product of parliamentary arithmetic but also of institutionally influenced cultural norms.
Being a cabinet minister involves balancing the goals of the party with the constraints imposed by other ministers, who may be from other parties, and the existing policies of one’s department, as well as taking into account ongoing engagement with EU partners. It also involves both collective and individual responsibility.
Which party gets which ministry partly depends on their preferences. But the number of ministries each party in a coalition gets normally equates to the strength of parliamentary support it can contribute relative to its partners in government – although sometimes those parties that are absolutely necessary to the formation of that government are given a disproportionate share of portfolios.
Multiparty systems do not necessarily produce unstable, short-lived governments. In fact, their duration and stability varies considerably – and not just according to type of government (majority or minority). Some countries routinely suffer from instability; some rarely, if ever, do so.
Around half of all Europe’s parliaments have just one chamber; the other half have two, although rarely is this ‘upper house’ – normally chosen on a different basis to the ‘lower house’ – as powerful as the latter. Hopefully, however, they improve the representativeness of the legislature and the quality of its legislative output.
Europe’s governments require the support of their legislatures and, as such, can normally be dismissed by them. This power – easier to exercise in some countries than in others – is rarely used in practice but is almost certainly a constraint.
Governments set the agenda on legislation and get most of what they want through. The pace of that legislation, and the extent to which it is modifiable by parliaments varies considerably. Some parliaments – notably those in ‘consensus’ systems – are stronger than others; namely, those that operate in more ‘majoritarian’ cultures. The committee system is a key variable.
Europe’s highly partisan parliaments are neither programmed nor resourced to do as good a job as their US counterpart in keeping an eye on governments. The situation is probably even worse when it comes to policing the EU.
The EP can be analysed as a legislature like any other: it has, for example, a party system that most Europeans, if they knew about it, would recognize. However, there is a disconnect between the ideological composition of the parliament and the political direction of the EU, which neither voters nor their elected representatives therefore seem to control.
The majority of MPs (who are not, incidentally, descriptively very representative of most of the citizens who elected them) are committed to parties that support the government or, at least, do not wish to bring it down. Essentially, then, Europe’s parliaments are relatively weak institutions because they contain strong parties.
(For general web materials on European Politics see
Tim Bale's Internet Guide)
www.cia.gov
Current PMs and cabinets
www.europarl.europa.eu
EP
www.rulers.org
Heads of state and government
www.ipu.org
Parliaments throughout Europe
www.riksdagen.se
Swedish parliament in English
wwww.idea.int/women/parl/toc.htm
Women in parliament
1. Europe’s presidents, and especially its kings and queens, are often seen as simply symbolic figureheads. Do you agree?
2. Some of Europe’s prime ministers seem to be more powerful in relation to their cabinet colleagues than others. Why do you think that is?
3. Why would you expect most European governments to be ‘minimal winning coalitions’? But why and how do some administrations govern without controlling a majority in parliament?
4. Why do you think some European governments last longer than others?
5. How is it decided which ministers get which jobs? What do ministers actually do, and how (well) do they all pull together as a cabinet?
6. Do the ‘upper houses’ of Europe’s parliaments have much influence?
7. Some parliaments are more powerful than others: which are they, and how and why do they have more influence than their counterparts in other countries?
8. Has European integration undermined the power of national parliaments? And what about the EU’s own parliament: what, in your opinion, most distinguishes it from its national counterparts?
9. Some of Europe’s parliaments seem more representative of its citizens than others: do you think that they should all be striving to contain MPs who are more like those who elect them?
10. Most observers agree that, for all the variation between them, Europe’s legislatures are not much of a check on its executives: why do you think that might be?
