PARLIAMENTARY REPUBLIC: ORIGIN, CHARACTERISTICS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The Parliamentary Republic is a type of government in which legislative power rests with Parliament. In this system there is a President who holds the position of Head of State. This figure is democratically elected, either by the people or by the parliament itself.

Unlike a Presidential Republic, the Head of State of the parliamentary systems does not have, or are few, real powers, beyond representation or mediation. The one who is in charge of the Government is the Prime Minister, although the name may vary.

Most of the Parliamentary Republics come from states in which, previously, there was a Monarchy. This went from being absolute to parliamentary and, from there, to become a republic due to various historical circumstances.

The main difference with respect to the Parliamentary Monarchy, in which it is also the parliament that has the legislative power and there is a Prime Minister, is the figure of the head of state.

While in monarchies it is a king who accedes to his post by inheritance, in republics he is an elected president.

Origin

Parliamentarism

Parliamentarism as a system of government dates back to Ancient Greece, although it did not resemble what is considered as such today.

For example, in Athens all free citizens (only men who were not slaves) were part of Parliament and could vote on proposals for political action.

The Romans also practiced this type of government. During the republican era, the system formally resembled the Parliamentary Republic, although given the way in which senators were elected it can only be considered a distant antecedent.

In the rest of Europe, the Courts of the Kingdom of León are considered the first case of parliamentary government, in this case in a Monarchy.

That was the form that many governments took in the Middle Ages, although the King had almost all the political powers and the parliaments were under his authority.

In England, after the war of 1640 between King Charles I and his parliament, a system was implemented in which, in reality, the latter assumed a large part of the legislative and administrative prerogatives.

France

Most of the Parliamentary Republics come from the evolution from the monarchy of the same type to the republic. Its appearance was not a homogeneous process, but rather depended on the circumstances of each country.

France was one of the first in which this mode of government appeared. When Napoleon III lost power in 1870 after the Franco-Prussian War, the country became a republic. It was the so-called Third Republic and had some changes compared to the previous ones.

The main difference was the loss of functions of the presidential figure, one of the characteristics of the Parliamentary Republics. Thus, it was the Chamber that wielded real power, which remained until the Second World War and the subsequent Nazi invasion.

At the end of the war, France went through very unstable periods. Finally, the system that exists today in the country can be called a presidential Republic, like that of the United States, since the presidential figure has broad powers.

Disappeared monarchies

One of the most frequent origins of the parliamentary republics is the disappearance of the old monarchy and its replacement by that system.

It was customary after the two world wars. In some of the European countries, such as Italy, Turkey or Greece, the support of the monarchs to the losing powers led to another form of government.

When those monarchs had to leave the throne, there was a change in the political system, with elected presidents and parliaments running the country.

New states

Part of the countries that were achieving independence throughout the 20th century, especially those that belonged to the Commonwealth, went directly to self-government with a system of Parliamentary Republic.

The same happened when the communist bloc disappeared in Eastern Europe. Although, before World War II, most had been monarchies, when they obtained democracy almost all opted for the republic.

characteristics

government

The main characteristic of this type of government is that the President of the Republic is not the head of government.

He is, on the other hand, the head of state, but his functions are usually representative or, as in Italy or Germany, he is in charge of mediation for some sensitive matters.

In this case, it is the Prime Minister who heads the governmental action, with a parliament that appoints him, exercises the work of control of the government and the legislative power.

It is in that parliament where the maximum political action takes place. He has the last word in the election of the President, which is usually on the proposal of the Prime Minister.

President

As indicated above, the functions of the President as Head of State are quite rare.

Although, in some legislation, it is necessary to sign it for parliamentary agreements or government proposals to come into force, in practice it is only a mere formality.

In some countries, he is in charge of dissolving Parliament and calling new elections, although, again, these are usually fully automatic acts at the request of the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister

He is a key figure in the structure of the Parliamentary Republic system. He is the head of the executive branch and is normally elected by the parliament itself.

One of the functions of the Prime Minister is to propose the candidate for President, who must be endorsed by the Parliamentary Chamber.

Differences with the Parliamentary Monarchy

The main difference between the Republic and the Monarchy, when they are parliamentarians, is who holds the head of state.

In the first case, it is the democratically elected President, either directly or indirectly. On the contrary, in monarchies this leadership is occupied by the king, in a hereditary position.

As for the prerogatives, there is usually no difference between the two systems. The monarchs of the parliamentary systems only exercise representative work, although they must sign the laws issued by the governments.

Only on very rare occasions can there be clashes between the king and parliament.

To give an example, in Belgium, a few years ago, the monarch abdicated for a few hours in order not to sign the draft law on abortion prepared by the government.

After being approved, he resumed office. These discrepancies do not usually occur in the republics, since the president can be removed.

Some of the monarchies of this type are the British, the Spanish or those of the Nordic countries in northern Europe.

References

1. EcuRed. Parlamentary republic. Obtained from ecured.cu
2. Sanguinetti, Julio Maria. Parliamentarism and presidentialism. Obtained from infobae.com
3. Briceño, Gabriela. Parliamentarism. Retrieved from euston96.com
4. Governmentvs. What is Parliamentary Republic ?. Retrieved from governmentvs.com
5. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. Parliamentary democracy. Retrieved from britannica.com
6. Spassov, Julian. Republican forms of government. Obtained from mcgregorlegal.eu
7. Wikipedia. Constitutional monarchy. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org