What is parliamentary government? Learn parliamentary system definition, and explore its advantages and disadvantages. See parliamentary government examples.
Updated: 11/21/2023
Parliamentary Government | Definition & Examples
Table of Contents
- What is Parliamentary Government?
- Parliamentary Government Examples
- Advantages of Parliamentary Government
- Disadvantages of Parliamentary Government
- Lesson Summary
- FAQs
- Activities
Prompts About Parliamentary Government:
Essay Prompt 1:
In approximately two to three paragraphs, write an essay that explains the definition of parliamentary government and describes the components of a parliamentary government.
Example: In a parliamentary government, the minority party is the opposition to the majority party that is in power.
Essay Prompt 2:
Write an essay of approximately one to two pages that describes the parliamentary governments of Australia and Germany, and compares and contrasts the two.
Example: Both Australia and Germany have two-house parliaments.
Graphic Organizer Prompt 1:
Create a poster, chart, or some other type of graphic organizer that presents the advantages of a parliamentary government.
Example: Efficiency, especially because the legislature and the prime minister or chancellor are united.
Graphic Organizer Prompt 2:
Make a poster, chart, or some other type of graphic organizer that depicts the disadvantages of a parliamentary government. Make sure that your graphic organizer defines the concept of leadership spills.
Example: There can be instability, especially since the Prime Minister or Chancellor can be removed from power at the request of the majority party.
List Prompt:
Make a list of at least five countries that have parliamentary governments.
Tip: Refer to the map presented in the lesson!
What is an example of a parliamentary government?
A well-known example of a parliamentary government is the United Kingdom where parliamentary governments originated. In the U.K., executive power belongs to a prime minister who is appointed by the parliament. There is also an non-elected head of state (monarch), who performs only ceremonial or symbolic functions and does not have real political power.
How does a parliamentary system of government work?
Under a parliamentary government, the head of government (prime minister) is elected by the legislature and can be removed from office at any time through a procedure called "vote of no confidence." As a result, government must always have support of the legislative majority, which means that it is often easy to change policy. However, sometimes parties do not easily agree who should be elected prime minister, which might result in government instability.
What does parliamentary government mean?
Parliamentary government means a type of government where the head of government (prime minister) is elected by, and responsible to, the legislature (parliament). It is distinct from presidential government in which both branches are elected separately and independent of each other.
Table of Contents
- What is Parliamentary Government?
- Parliamentary Government Examples
- Advantages of Parliamentary Government
- Disadvantages of Parliamentary Government
- Lesson Summary
Parliamentary government is a form of government in which the majority party in parliament constitutes governmental power. The executive powers and legislative powers are merged because the legislative branch (parliament) elects the prime minister who serves as the executive branch of government, or the "head of government." In parliamentary systems, people elect only parliamentary members and not the prime minister. Therefore, the executive branch cannot come to power or function without the support of the legislative branch.
By contrast, in presidential systems, such as in America, citizens elect the executive (president) and legislative (congress) branches separately.
Origin of Parliamentary System
The parliamentary system originated in England. During the medieval period, European rulers often had difficulty collecting taxes without their subjects' consent. To obtain such consent, leaders convened representative bodies to hear the concerns and demands of their subjects. The first parliament assembled in England in 1215. In other European countries such as France parliaments were started but gradually fell out of favor. By contrast, the English Parliament became more and more powerful.
After 1689, the English monarch could only pass new legislation or taxes with Parliament's consent. In the late 18th century, the Parliament gradually gained the power to appoint the prime minister and other ministers (previously, it had been within the monarch's power to appoint a prime minister). The ability to establish executive power therefore shifted from the non-elected monarch to the elected Parliament. As suffrage extended from wealthy men to all adults in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Parliament became a democratic institution.
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Characteristics of Parliamentary System
In the American presidential system, the president is both head of state and head of government, which means that a president both has ceremonial functions and makes executive decisions. By contrast, under the parliamentary system, the head of state and head of the government are separate. Under a parliamentary system, heads of state have little political power and largely perform ceremonial functions. Real political power belongs to the prime minister, who is the head of government (the executive branch) and is elected by the parliament (the legislative branch).
Parliamentary systems are divided into parliamentary monarchies and parliamentary republics. In parliamentary monarchies, as in the United Kingdom or Japan, the head of state is a monarch (e.g., queen or emperor). Monarchs are not elected but assume the office on the basis of heredity, usually when the previous monarch dies or abdicates. In parliamentary republics, like Germany or Italy, the head of state is a president elected by parliaments or electoral colleges. Therefore, prime ministers, rather than presidents, in parliamentary republics wield real political power.
Prime ministers are not appointed to terms of specific duration. Prime ministers serve as long as they enjoy support of the parliamentary majority (or resign). The procedure of removing the prime minister from office is called a "vote of no confidence," which is a political procedure used by the parliament to remove the prime minister for any reason they deem necessary. Thus, a prime minister can serve many or less than one parliament terms. For example, Angela Merkel has served as the German prime minister since 2005. By contrast, the Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was removed via "vote of no confidence" in 2018 after only two years in that position.
Functioning of Parliamentary Government
In presidential systems such as in the United States, citizens elect both the president and the legislature (congress). By contrast, in parliamentary systems, citizens elect only the legislature (parliament). This means that citizens in countries with parliamentary governments can only elect representatives of their region to the national legislature. After an election, the legislature (parliament) assembles and appoints the prime minister by majority vote. Parliaments also vote and appoint other ministers who collectively form the cabinet, which is the highest level of government.
Though citizens do not vote for a prime minister directly, their votes for parliamentary members affects the choice of prime minister. Before an election, parties publicly announce their choice for prime minister should they win a majority in parliament. For example, before the 2019 election in the United Kingdom, the Conservative Party announced their preference for Boris Johnson for the position of prime minister. Voting for a Conservative member of parliament therefore practically meant supporting Boris Johnson as prime minister.
Presidential systems function according to a fixed electoral calendar according to which elections take place at a prescribed time (for example in the United States, the presidential election occurs every four years). Parliamentary elections are also scheduled at regular intervals, but politicians can also call for unscheduled, early, or "snap," elections. Rules regarding snap elections vary by nation. In Canada for example, the prime minister can call snap elections at any time. Strategically, a prime minister might call a snap election if their party is popular and would easily win. In that case, it does not make sense for the party to wait until the end of the parliamentary term when they could be less popular. Similar rules applied in Britain until 2011, when a two-thirds majority became necessary to call a snap election. In some countries, snap elections can be called by the head of state if parliament is unable to elect the prime minister with a majority vote. For example, Israel had four such elections in 2019-21. Only the last one resulted in a stable parliamentary coalition that could elect a prime minister.
It is actually rather rare for a single party to hold a majority of seats in a parliament and elect a prime minister on its own. In most parliamentary systems, several parties need to form a coalition: to combine to achieve at least fifty percent of seats and elect a prime minister. Such governments are called coalition governments. For example, Angela Merkel, the prime minister of Germany, is supported by a coalition of Christian Democrats and Social Democrats. In Britain, usually one party manages to obtain a parliamentary majority and elect a prime minister on its own. In the last election (2019), the Conservative Party obtained fifty-six percent of parliamentary seats, forming a single-party government that did not need the support of any other party to appoint the prime minister.
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An example of a parliamentary monarchy is Japan where the head of state is Emperor Naruhito who was installed in 2019. He performs only ceremonial and representative functions and cannot interfere in politics. The head of government is the Prime Minister who wields executive power. Japanese parliament is bicameral, which means it has two chambers (like the United States Congress). The Japanese House of Representatives is directly elected by the people at least every four years. It has more powers (including the power to appoint and dismiss the prime minister) than the upper chamber, the House of Councilors. Members of the House of Councilors are elected every six years.
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An example of a parliamentary republic is Germany, which has a president as its head of state. The president is elected every five years by an electoral college composed of members of the national parliament and state legislatures. As in Japan, the real political power belongs to the prime minister (in Germany called "chancellor"), who is appointed by and responsible to Bundestag, the lower chamber of the German parliament. Bundestag is directly elected by the people at least every four years. It has more powers than the Bundesrat, the upper chamber, whose members are appointed by German state governments.
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One advantage of a parliamentary system is that it tends to work smoothly because the government always has majority support in the legislature. It is therefore easy for the government to enact legislation and change policy. It is less likely for government to be divided as in presidential systems where the president and legislative (congressional) majority sometimes belong to different parties and disagree on legislation.
In a parliamentary system, it is also easier for voters to identify who is responsible when things go wrong. Because the parliamentary majority appoints the prime minister, they cannot blame each other when there is a policy failure. Because a prime minister is also a leader of the largest party in the legislature, the party can control them and limit their authoritarian intentions. Moreover, in a parliamentary system, it is easy to replace the head of government (the prime minister) if citizens believe they are doing a bad job. To oust a prime minister, the parliamentary majority needs only to pass a vote of no confidence. On the other hand, in a presidential system the president cannot usually be removed from office until their term expires.
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One of the greatest disadvantages of a parliamentary system is the potential instability of government. If no party has a parliamentary majority, it may be hard to elect a prime minister or pass legislation. Politicians can form party coalitions to overcome this obstacle, but in many countries coalition governments frequently collapse. For example, from 1946-1992, Italy had a new prime minister every 1.6 years on average.
But an opposite problem can also occur. Parliamentary systems have less developed checks on executive power, especially when there is a single-party government (when a single party holds a parliamentary majority). When there is a single-party government, there is little motivation to compromise, and it faces no effective institutional checks on power.
Finally, many citizens in countries with parliamentary systems complain that they are not able to directly elect a head of government. When there are multiple small parties, citizens are very uncertain who might be a prime minister after an election.
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There are two primary systems of government in democratic countries: the parliamentary system and presidential system. In a presidential system, citizens elect both the executive power (the president) and the legislative power (congress). In a parliamentary system, legislative and executive powers are combined because the parliament, not the people, elect the head of government, who is called the prime minister. The prime minister does not have a fixed term in office and can be recalled by the legislature at any time. Because in parliamentary systems both powers are controlled by the same party or coalition, government is often more efficient than in presidential systems. However, citizens do not vote directly for the head of government (prime minister), and hence, some people consider parliamentary governments less democratic.
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Video Transcript
President or Prime Minister?
Have you ever wondered what the difference is between a president and a prime minister? Or maybe you've wondered why other countries don't have a president. Well, the answers lie in understanding the differences between a presidential versus a parliamentary system of government. Learning how a parliamentary system works will help you understand how other democratic countries like Australia and Germany govern themselves.
Defining Parliamentary Government
Parliamentary government is a democratic form of government in which the political party that wins the most seats in the legislature or parliament during the federal election forms the government. This majority party chooses a leader to be the prime minister or chancellor, and other high-ranking members of the party make up the cabinet. The minority party forms the opposition, and its job is to challenge the majority party. If no party is able to win a majority in the election, a coalition government will be formed with a few political parties cooperating together.
It's called 'parliamentary government' because all of the power is vested in the parliament. In a presidential system like the United States, the executive branch is separate, and the president is popularly elected by the citizens of the nation. In a parliamentary system, the head of the government is chosen from the parliament, and is often one of the most senior members or ministers in parliament, which is where we get the term 'prime minister.' Often in a parliamentary system, the country will have a head of state, who is a ceremonial figure like the queen, but does not engage in legislating or politics.
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Examples: Australia and Germany
Parliamentary government originated in Great Britain, and now countries all over the world use this form of democracy. For example, Australia and Germany both have a parliamentary government, but there are a few differences between them.
Australia, a member of the British Commonwealth, has a form of parliamentary government that is similar to Great Britain. Its Parliament has two houses; the Senate and the House of Representatives just like the United States Congress. The political party that wins the most seats in the House of Representatives forms the government and chooses the prime minister. In Australia, the floor of the Parliament is the site of vigorous debate. The majority and minority parties face off regularly to discuss legislation. There's often a lot of shouting and taunting! The prime minister takes part in the debates, and must be prepared to join the fray to propose and defend his or her decisions.
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Germany also has a two-house Parliament. The Bundesrat is the upper house like the Senate, and the Bundestag is the lower house like the House of Representatives. The majority party in the Bundestag elects the chancellor who leads the government. Unlike Australia, most debates happen in small committee meetings. Then the committees bring a bill to the plenary chamber where it goes to a vote. That means there's a lot less fighting in the plenary chamber.
Parliamentary Government Advantages
One of the biggest advantages to parliamentary government is that it's really efficient. In a presidential system like the U.S., it's pretty common for the president and Congress to represent different political parties. In theory, this can be a check on power, but often leads to gridlock. You might remember how this was a huge problem in 2013 when the president and Congress could not agree on how to solve the debt crisis, and this led to a government shutdown.
In parliamentary government, the executive and the parliament are unified, and the government can pass laws more quickly and efficiently with its majority. This also means that there's a lot less finger-pointing. If a law is unpopular, the government must take full responsibility and can't blame the opposition party. The public can hold the majority party accountable for all of its decisions because it's obvious who made them.
In a presidential system, a president has more power than a prime minister, and may become authoritarian. It is also much harder to remove an unpopular president. Prime ministers must constantly prove themselves worthy of the office. If they fail, they can be removed overnight.
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Parliamentary Government Disadvantages
A big disadvantage to this system is that the government can be unstable. Unlike a president, a prime minister or chancellor is elected by the majority party and can be removed at any time if the majority party loses confidence in that person as leader. For example, in Australia, these leadership spills have occurred several times in the last five years. In 2010, the Prime Minister and leader of the Labor Party, Kevin Rudd, was replaced by Julia Gillard, another member of the Labor party, after they passed a vote of no confidence in him. Julia Gillard survived one leadership spill, but in 2013, Kevin Rudd replaced her as prime minister after she was defeated in a vote. Also in February 2015, the Liberal Party took control of the government, and Prime Minister Tony Abbot faced and survived his first leadership spill.
Another disadvantage is that the minority party has much less power, and can be oppressed by the majority. That means opinions held by other smaller parties can be overlooked or rejected in the government.
Lesson Summary
Parliamentary government is a type of democratic government in which the political party that wins the most seats in the parliament forms the government. That party will choose a leader as prime minister or chancellor, who acts as the head of the government. Countries all over the world use the parliamentary system, including Great Britain, Germany, and Australia.
Some advantages of the parliamentary system are that it's efficient, the public can hold the majority party accountable for its decisions, and the prime ministers must constantly prove themselves. Some disadvantages of the parliamentary system are issues of instability, such as leadership spills and an oppressed minority opinion.
Parliamentary Government Key Terms, Advantages & Disadvantages
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- Parliamentary Government: a democratically elected government in which the party with the most seats forms the government
- Parliament: the legislative division in which elected members are seated
- Prime Minister/Chancellor: leader of the winning party who leads the government
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| More efficient | Unstable governments |
| Unified executive and parliament | PM/Chancellor can be easily replaced if confidence is lost |
| Legislation passes more quickly and the public holds majority responsible | Minority parties can be overwhelmed by majority and their opinions overlooked |
Learning Outcomes
After watching the lesson on parliamentary governments, apply what you've learned in order to:
- Describe a parliamentary government
- Identify countries that have parliamentary governments
- Detail the advantages and disadvantages of parliamentary government
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Parliamentary Government | Definition & Examples
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