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The term parliamentary system does not mean that a country is ruled by different parties in coalition with each other. Such multi-party arrangements are usually the product of a voting system known as proportional representation. Parliamentary nations that use first past the post voting, usually have governments composed of one party. Britain, for instance, has only had one coalition government since World War II. All parliamentary systems of continental Europe do, however, use proportional representation, so it can be said that the PR voting system and parliamentary government usually go together.
The executive is typically a cabinet, and headed by a prime minister who is considered the head of government, but parliamentarism has also been practised with privy councils and the Senate of Finland. The prime minister and the ministers of the cabinet typically have their background in the parliament and may remain members thereof while serving in cabinet. The leader of the leading party, or group of parties, in the parliament is often appointed as the prime minister.
In many countries, the cabinet, or single members thereof, can be removed by the parliament through a vote of no confidence. In addition, the executive often can dissolve the parliament and call extra-ordinary elections.
Under the parliamentary system the roles of head of state and head of government are more or less separated. In most parliamentary systems, the head of state is primarily a ceremonial position, often a monarchThis article treats the generic title monarch . For the origins of the word king and its English use, see Germanic king. For other meanings of the word, see Monarch (disambiguation A monarch is a type of ruler or head of state. The word derives from Greek or presidentPresident is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, universities, and countries. Etymologically, a "president" is one who presides, who sits in leadership (from Latin prae "before" + sedere "to sit"). Originally, the term usually referr, retaining duties that aren't politically divisive, such as appointments of civil service.
In many parliamentary systems, the head of state may have reserve powerA reserve power is a power that may be exercised by the head of state of a country in certain exceptional circumstances. Reserve powers of constitutional monarchs Heads of state in countries with either an unwritten constitution (e. the United Kingdom) ors which are usable in a crisis. In most cases however, such powers are (either by convention or by constitutional rule) only exercised upon the advice and approval of the head of government.
Parliamentary systems vary as to the degree to which they have a formal written constitution and the degree to which that constitution describes the day to day working of the government. They also vary as to the number of parties within the system and the dynamics between the parties. Also, relations between the central government and local governments vary in parliamentary systems, they may be federalThe word ''federal in a general sense refers to the nature of an agreement between or among two or more states nations, or other groups to merge into a union in which control of common affairs is held by a central authority created by and with the consent or unitary stateA unitary state is a state or country that is governed constitutionally as one single unit, with one constitutionally created parliament. The term is the antonym of Federation. Governmental power may well be transferred to lower levels, to regionally or ls. Parliamentary systems also vary in the voting freedom allowed back bench legislators.
Parliamentarism is praised, relative to presidentialism, for its flexibility and responsiveness to the public. It is faulted for its tendency to sometimes lead to unstable governments, as in the German Weimar RepublicThe period of German history from 1919 to 1933 is known as the Weimar Republic (in German Weimarer Republik ). It is named after the city of Weimar, where a national assembly convened to produce a new constitution after Germany's defeat in World War I., the French Fourth Republic, Italy, and Israel.
Parliamentarism may also be heeded for governance in local governments. An example is the city of Oslo, which has an executive council as part of a parliamentary system.