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Presidents and Prime Ministers  

post #1 of 14
3/27/03 at 4:25pm
Thread Starter 
Most countries have one or the other but France and some other counties have both. Is this because they don't want any one person to have too much power? Which one is considered the head of state? It seems pretty counter productive.

And I know France is not very popular now, But they did help us become an independant country way back when so try and leave the nasty French comments off this thread.
Thanks
post #2 of 14
3/27/03 at 4:46pm
In countries with President and PM, the President is normally a ceremonial position with very limited power, such as in Germany. It's more or less like our Vice President.
post #3 of 14
3/27/03 at 4:55pm
Frequently, the Presidential role is a "ceremonial" role with little real power in the day to day governing of the country - essentially a figurehead for diplomacy rather than in charge of policy with the role flagged as "non-political". In the UK, you could say the Queen effectively fulfills that kind of position...

With France, the President is elected by the people every seven years & he then chooses the Prime Minister - this ends up being the leader of the political party that holds the majority in the National Assembly (which elected every five years I believe?).

Generally, the President is from the same party as the Prime Minister, thus making the process fairly straightfoward. However right now, the majority is a socialist party whilst the President is more conservative, thus there's a split in policies/attitudes etc.

The thing that makes France "different" is the role of the President has changed to what it is with most countries. Thanks to de Gaulle's super-strong influence in the 50s & 60s as President, as well as the strengths of Mitterand & Chirac, the role has evolved into one much more politically powerful than originally thought of (or compared to other European countries). It's an ongoing "battle" between those two positions over who dominates the decision making process.
post #4 of 14
3/27/03 at 5:20pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks!
A lot of info goes by and papers or TV rarely has time or space to give background on different situations.

So I guess in the case of France, there is no wriiten power structure since it evolved gradually.
If the president picks his PM, why did he pick someone of a different party. no real majority and tried to form a government?
Is the president generally next in line if something happens to the PM?
Does this have anything to do with the Napoleonic Code? I hear the term ofter but have never really found anything about it.
I even had a friend who was a lawyer and she said she would look it up when she was at a law library. She was really suprised when she couldn't find anything about it
post #5 of 14
3/27/03 at 5:40pm
Quote:
So I guess in the case of France, there is no wriiten power structure since it evolved gradually.

No, there is a written power structure etc, it's just that a number of /very/ dominating personalities in the role of president have gradually manipulated the system into something it's not really supposed to be. The French Presidential role isn't supposed to have anywhere near the portfolio it currently has and, I believe, the last few Prime Ministers have been trying to change that, causing a powerstruggle. The current situation of differing parties doesn't help

Quote:
If the president picks his PM, why did he pick someone of a different party. no real majority and tried to form a government?Is the president generally next in line if something happens to the PM?

I honestly don't know enough about the French system to answer either question though I doubt he's next in line. But I know someone who should, seeing as he's French, and will ask him tomorrow.
post #6 of 14
3/27/03 at 6:40pm
Galahad: Are you French?
French Soldier: Of course I am French! Why do you think I have this out-rrrrageous accent!
Galahad: What are you doing in England?
French Soldier: Mind your own business!
post #7 of 14
3/27/03 at 7:49pm
Thread Starter 
Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of eldeberry now go or I will taunt you a second time.

Thanks, I needed that
post #8 of 14
3/27/03 at 8:25pm
Actually the French President and PM are of the same party now since last year.
Also the President is only elected for 5 years since last year.

The President has to choose the PM from the party that has the majority at the National Assembly, even if it's not his.

The National Assembly votes on laws so only laws presented by the leading party have a chance to pass.

I believe the President has some kind of veto or something but I'm not sure.
post #9 of 14
3/28/03 at 5:56am
Quote:
The President has to choose the PM from the party that has the majority at the National Assembly, even if it's not his.

Yep, that is what happened in the 80s with Miterrand (P) and Chirac (PM), la cohabitation. I believe it was unheard of until then. They pretty much redefined the President - Prime Minister relationship. The executive branch had become a showdown between the two, culminating in a presidential race between the two and the subsequent Chirac's defeat and resignation in the late 80's.

Another interesting aspect is that the president has the right to disolve the parliement and reconvene legislative elections if he deems it necessary. Chirac (finally president) did it in the mid 90s for reasons I can't remember now, of even fathom, since the right, to which he belongs already had the majority. That has to go down as one of the biggest political blunders in recent memory, as it backfired and the opposition ended up wining the elections, ushering France into a the second "cohabitation"

Interesting stuff eh?

--
Holadem
post #10 of 14
3/28/03 at 6:35am
Quote:
Actually the French President and PM are of the same party now since last year.
Also the President is only elected for 5 years since last year.

Ah, I didn't realise this - thanks for the correction. I hadn't seen anything reported about the change in term.
post #11 of 14
3/28/03 at 8:24pm
Now someone explain the structure of the EU.

Thats a trick question. No one understands the structure of the EU.
post #12 of 14
3/29/03 at 7:10pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks, I would have never guessed.
Quote:
Now someone explain the structure of the EU.

Well if it stops France and Germany from fighting each other in a war, that's ok. Maybe that's the secret,they can't figure out how to declare war on each other because of the EU.
post #13 of 14
2/10/09 at 10:35am

Re: Presidents and Prime Ministers

Quote:
I even had a friend who was a lawyer and she said she would look it up when she was at a law library. She was really suprised when she couldn't find anything about it

Not surprising. US law is based upon English common law with some statutes thrown in. Precidence is used to fill in the gaps so the statutes don't have to be so complicated. France and other continental countries basically ignore precidence and leave every tiny detail to statutes. Most is based upon old Roman codes, which Napoleon polished up into the modestly-named Napoleonic Code.

Most US law libraries would have few if any books on continental codes.
post #14 of 14
2/10/09 at 5:11pm

Re: Presidents and Prime Ministers

Dennis,

This thread is 5 years old and the OP hasn't been here for almost 1 year and a half.

In fact, I think it's even better for me to close this thread, because under the current circumstances it could too easily wander off - even into domains we don't promote.


Cees
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