Political Executives

Political ExecutivesWeek 13

Political ExecutivesThe political executive is the core of government, consisting of political leaders who form the top of the administration: presidents and ministers, prime ministers and cabinets. Governing without an assembly, a constitution, or political parties is possible, but ruling without and executive is impossible.

Political ExecutivesThe political executive is different from bureaucracy. Unlike appointed officials, the members of the executive are generally chosen by elections and can be removed by the same way.

Political ExecutivesThe crucial element in the organization of a national executive is the role assigned to the chief executive.In presidential systems, such as in the United States, the president is both the political head of the government and also the ceremonial head of state. In parliamentary systems, such as in Great Britain, the prime minister is the national political leader, but another figure, a monarch or elected president, serves as the head of state. In mixed presidential-parliamentary systems, such as that established in France under the constitution of 1958, the president serves as head of state but also wields important political powers, including the appointment of a prime minister and cabinet to serve as the government.

Functions of Political Executives

- Ceremonial dutiesThe first duty of the executive is formal and ceremonial and covers state occasions, foreign visits etc. This representation generally helps to build a legitimacy.In general non executive presidents and monarchs are charged with these responsibilities and executive officers deal with the daily politics.


- Control of policy-makingThe main function of the political executive is to direct and control the policy process.In the last century executive’s legislative power has been increased.


- Popular political leadership The popularity of the political executive is crucial to the character and stability of the regime as a whole.Without support from the public policy implementation become difficult.Political executive’s support is closely related to the legitimacy of the whole regime.


- Bureaucratic management The political executive has important bureaucratic and administrative responsibilities. At that point, chief executives, ministers and secretaries constitute a top management charged with running the machinery of government.


- Crisis responseThe political executive also has the ability to take decisive action particularly in crisis periods.


- Maintenance of internal peace and order The formulation of the national policy for domestic, as well as, external purposes is the chief concern of the executive. It includes all activities pertaining of the maintenance and well-being of the State.


- The initiative for legislative work has also become the responsibility of the executive. The bills are first approved by the Cabinet, and the government does not face any difficulty in getting the approval of the Parliament where, generally, it enjoys a majority.


The executive proposes the budget and decides about the imposition or abolition of taxes. It may increase or decrease the tax rates. The executive also sees that provisions of the budget are implemented after the approval of the Parliament. It is, therefore, clear that the executive has all pervasive authority over the activities of the State.

Power in the Executive: Who Leads?

PRESIDENTS A president is a formal head of state, a title that is held in other states by a monarch or emperor. Constitutional or nonexecutive presidents in India and Germany are a feature of parliamentary systems and have responsibilities confined largely to ceremonial duties. In this case the executive power is in the hands of Prime ministers or cabinets.An executive president combine the formal responsibilities of a head of state with the political power of a chief executive.


PRESIDENTS

Presidentialism is a form of constitutional rule in which a single chief executive governs using the authority derived from popular election, with an independent legislature.The president directs the government and also serves as ceremonial head of state.


PRESIDENTS

The separation of power is the most important feature of the presidential system.Presidential executives may be either limited or unlimited. Limited systems operate within constrains imposed by a constitution, political democracy, party competition and some form of separation of powers. The best example of this presidentialism can be found in the US. France and Finland have semi-presidential systems.In US system constitution created an elective kingship . The president was designated head of state, chief executive, commander-in-chief of the armed forces and chief diplomat, he or she has also the right to veto legislation. However, in this system Congress was created as the counterbalancing power. Congress could declare war and override presidential vetoes, and the senate was empowered to approve appointments and ratify treaties.


PRIME MINISTERS

In a parliamentary democracy the leadership of the government is in the hands of the Prime Minister, who is the real executive, the nominal executive being the President. Parliamentary executives have three characteristics:Since executive power is derived from the assembly and closely linked to the party politics, a separate head of state, in the form of a constitutional monarch or nonexecutive president, is required to fulfill ceremonial duty and act as a focus of patriotic loyalty.The political executive is drawn from the assembly which means that the separation of the personnel between the legislature and executive found in presidential systems does not occur in parliamentary systems.The executive is directly responsible to the assembly, or at least to its lower chamber, in the sense that it survives in government only as long as it retains the confidence of the assembly.


PRIME MINISTERS

Parliamentary executives are forced to govern in and through assemblies, while presidential executives tend to rely on a personal mandate and an independent set of constitutional powers.Prime ministers are heads of government whose power is derived from their leadership of the majority party, or coalition of parties, in the assembly.Through the party system and the authority of patronage which the Prime Minister enjoys, the Prime Minister has the authority of the Parliament. The ever increasing authority or influence of the Prime Minister has changed the Cabinet government into 'Prime Ministerial government'.


PRIME MINISTERS

Accordingly, there are two different kinds of prime-ministerial relationship. the first set are with the cabinet, individual ministers, and government departments, the second are with his or her party and through it the assembly and the public. In the first example support of the cabinet is crucial for the Prime Minister, because he or she is accepted as primus inter pares. (First among equals)In the second case, the degree of party unity, the parliamentary strength of the Prime minister’s party and the authority vested in the assembly are important determinants of prime-ministerial power.


PRIME MINISTERS

The Prime Minister always enjoys a special position in the realm of policy making and other ministers play varying levels of subordinate role. It is said that the crucial policy decisions are taken not in the Cabinet but in the inter-departmental committees, in Cabinet Committees or in conversation between the Prime Minister and the individual minister. Hence, the Prime Minister is the crucial element in the decision-making process. However, it is also pointed out that the Prime Minister's influence on the policy making may be exaggerated, as the spheres of state activity have increased enormously, that no one person is able to survey the whole field. The Prime Minister along with his/her council of ministers, as we have already mentioned acts as the real executive in the parliamentary system.


CABINETS

A cabinet is a committee of senior ministers who represent the various government departments or ministries. The Cabinet, functioning on the principle of collective responsibility, is the top policy making body in the government.The Cabinet plays a very important role in policy making as would be clear from the following :1) It defines the direction which the national policy shall take and decides how each problem at home or abroad is to be tackled.2) The Cabinet is responsible for all types of legislation. It gets the proposals prepared from various departments and only after its approval, these are submitted to the Parliament.3) The Cabinet is held responsible for every detail of the administrative work carried on by the ever-growing administrative machinery.

CABINETS

4) It is also responsible for the finances of the State. 5) It is the Cabinet which decides as to what business is to be submitted to the Parliament and how much time be allotted for the same. 6) Higher appointments at home. and abroad are also made by the Cabinet through its Committee on Appointments.Thus, the Cabinet initiates and decides public policy concerning almost every sphere of government's activity. Without its approval no policy proposal can become effective.

The Politics of Leadership

-Leadership as a personal gift-Leadership as a sociological phenomenon-Leadership is an organizational necessity-Leadership is a political skill

Styles of Leadership

-Laissez-Faire leadership attempts to create harmony and network by broadening responsibilities of subordinates. It means that the leader is reluctant to interfere in matters outside his or her personal responsibility. (Reagan and Bush)-Transactional Leadership allows leaders to act as brokers and balance rival factions and interests against each other. These leaders adopt a positive role in relation to policy-making and government management, but are motivated by essentially pragmatic goals and considerations.-Transformational Leadership places a heavy emphasis on the mobilization of support through the leader’s capacity to inspire and to advance a personal vision. It means that instead of seeking compromise and consensus, transformational leaders attempt to mobilize support from within government, their parties and the general public for realization of their personal vision.

Documents

Political Executives