Parliamentary system

A parliamentary system is a specific form of government defined by the fusion of powers. In this structure, the executive branch and the legislative branch are closely linked. The head of government, often called the chief executive, gains democratic legitimacy through the support of the parliament. This support is known as "confidence." If the leader loses the confidence of a majority in parliament, they are held accountable and may be replaced.

This differs from a presidential system. In a presidential system, the president is not fully accountable to the legislature and cannot be removed by a simple majority vote.

These systems can take several different forms depending on the country. A nation might be a constitutional monarchy, where a monarch serves as the ceremonial head of state. In these cases, the head of government is almost always a member of parliament. Alternatively, a country may be a parliamentary republic. In a republic, a president serves as a mostly ceremonial head of state. The head of government in a republic is usually drawn from the legislature.

In some rare cases, the head of government also serves as the head of state. In these instances, the legislature elects the leader directly.

Parliaments are also categorized by how many chambers they contain. A unicameral parliament consists of only one legislative chamber. A bicameral parliament features two distinct chambers, known as houses. Usually, the lower house is directly elected by the people. This lower house typically holds the power to determine the executive government. The upper house may be elected or appointed through different methods.

In many bicameral systems, the head of government is a member of the lower house.

History shows that parliamentary ideas developed over many centuries. The earliest examples appeared in Europe during the Middle Ages. The Icelandic Althing is a disputed early example, gathering around the year 930. The first written record of a parliament was in 1188 in the Cortes of León, located in modern-day Spain. In England, Simon de Montfort convened two famous parliaments in 1258 and 1265. These meetings helped strip the king of unlimited authority and included ordinary citizens.

Later, the 1689 Bill of Rights in England helped pioneer ideas for liberal democracy.

The British model, known as the Westminster system, spread globally. This system features an executive that is answerable to the lower house. It became very common in former British dominions. These include Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Union of South Africa. Some nations, such as Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados, are now republics. They have ceremonial presidents but still use the Westminster system of government.

In Australia, the Senate was designed to reflect the United States Senate more than the British House of Lords.

Scholars like Arend Lijphart distinguish between two main types of parliamentary democracy. The first is the Westminster system, found often in the Commonwealth of Nations. This system tends to have an adversarial style of debate. The plenary session, where all members meet, is very important here. The second is the Consensus system, used in most of Western Europe. Countries like Germany and Spain use this model. These systems often use semi-circular debating chambers and rely heavily on committees.

Consensus systems also frequently use proportional representation for elections.

There are also atypical or hybrid models of governance. The most common variant is the semi-presidential system. This model is based on the Fifth Republic of France. It creates a dual executive where both a president and a prime minister hold power. In the "premier-presidential" model, the cabinet is responsible to the parliament. However, the president is not subject to parliamentary confidence. In the "president-parliamentary" model, the president may also dismiss the prime minister.

These variations show how different nations adapt parliamentary principles to their own needs.