Even the premiership carries risks

The institutional reform that was born with a presidential objective, in the French or American style, seems to have to settle instead on a more modest perspective, thedirect election of the Prime Minister. Is it a retreat or an adaptation? Difficult to say and perhaps it is even useless to discuss it. The goal of giving stability to governments, overcoming a practice that saw the succession of prime ministers every year or two, is certainly acceptable even if it is far from simple to achieve. Even a directly elected prime minister must still find a parliamentary majority to approve the laws and decrees he proposes. Paradoxically, it was the request for confidence, which accompanied the most difficult parliamentary votes, that often saved governments. If the government no longer depends on the trust of Parliament because it takes office by virtue of the popular mandate, it can no longer use the unpleasant but very useful “blackmail” of the vote of confidence. What happens if, during the legislature, the government systematically finds itself in the minority due to political phenomena such as splits or changes in the course of parties, which cannot be prevented by any reform? Since the President of the Republic no longer has the power to confer government posts, early elections must be held. Even the German formula of constructive distrust could not be applied, because it would be contrary to the popular investiture of the prime minister. The risk is to pass from short-term governments following one another in the same legislature to short legislatures: even worse. Naturally, it is legitimate to hope that political behavior adapts to the new institutional conditions and that the turbulence in and between parties takes into account the disruptive effect they would have, almost automatically leading to the dissolution of the Chambers. But it’s not a given that it will happen. In short even the easiest path, because it is more shared, of the elective premiership presents problems that it will be good to examine rationally if we want to arrive at a truly more stable system.