French President Emmanuel Macron is a strong man. Still, he should be jealous of the Austrian Federal President, not just because of his official residence in the Hofburg. Both can appoint a head of government without the approval of parliament, but only the Federal President can remove him from office without the People’s Assembly.
An overview of the main powers of the presidents in the EU countries with a semi-presidential system of government:
- Appointment of Heads of Government (without Parliament’s consent): Austria, France
- Resignation of the head of government: Austria
- Dissolution of Parliament: Austria, France, Portugal
- Veto against legislative acts: Poland, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Portugal
- Issuance of decrees-laws: Poland
- Call for referendums: France, Poland, Romania, Latvia, Bulgaria
“relinquish role”
This makes Austria the only EU country with a “presidential-parliamentary” government system. Political scientist Anton Pelinka attributes the fact that in reality there is no sign of this presidential power to a “renunciation of roles” by the Federal President.
In fact, when forming a government, the president cannot act against the will of the parliamentary majority, as the National Council can overthrow any government by a simple majority. Unlike in France, party leaders with a corresponding loyal power base in parliament do not stand in the Austrian presidential election.
The President’s Achilles Heel
The lack of legislative responsibilities is the Federal President’s Achilles heel. While the Polish president can issue legislative decrees, the Portuguese president can veto parliamentary decisions or the Romanian president can order a referendum, the federal president only has the rather brutal “discipline” to dissolve parliament. And he also needs a proposal from the Chancellor to use it.
Source: Krone
I’m an experienced news author and editor based in New York City. I specialize in covering healthcare news stories for Today Times Live, helping to keep readers informed on the latest developments related to the industry. I have a deep understanding of medical topics, including emerging treatments and drugs, the changing laws that regulate healthcare providers, and other matters that affect public health.
