With the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) prospects for next year’s presidential election looking bright, there is increasing optimism that there will be constitutional reform to give the legislature the right to approve the appointment of the premier.
Based on the experience of France, which like Taiwan has a semi-presidential system, as well as Taiwan’s own experience since 2000, the following three points highlight the importance of the legislature’s right to approve the appointment of the premier.
First, legislative right of approval could facilitate a constitutional system in which power is on a par with responsibility, precluding the current system in which the president has power, but no responsibility, while the premier has responsibility, but no power. Under this system, the president would appoint a premier that is acceptable to the legislature, which means that a political leader with the support of the majority of the legislature would be premier.
Michel Jean-Pierre Debre, who drafted the Constitution of the Fifth Republic of France, originated the idea that a prime minister appointed by the president and approved by parliament should only be answerable to parliament. Unless the Cabinet is disbanded, the president has no right to discharge the prime minister. In 2012, Francois Fillon became the first prime minister to step down together with the president in France’s Fifth Republic, a practice that is worth emulating.
Second, legislative right of approval would facilitate political stability.
When the Fifth Republic was established, Socialist Party leader Pierre Mauroy advised Charles de Gaulle to adhere to the parliamentary system and choose to serve as prime minister. Although this idea was not realized, beginning with Debre, every French prime minister has had rich party experience and polished political skills, allowing them to handle veteran Cabinet members and direct members of parliament associated with Cabinet members to pass bills.
Since 2000, Taiwan’s premiers have mostly lacked the capability to control a majority of legislators, which explains why they have been powerless, while taking the blame on other people’s behalf. The frequent resignations are only to be expected.
In the Fifth Republic, the average tenure of prime ministers is three years. In Taiwan, partly because the legislature has no right to approve the appointment of the premier, it has had five premiers in six years, despite the fact that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) holds a legislative majority.
Third, legislative right of approval could help prevent legislative deadlocks.
In France, both the right and left wings are losing their support, raising the possibility of Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Front — which only holds two of the 577 seats in the National Assembly — winning the 2017 presidential election.
In Taiwan, both the KMT and the DPP have underperformed, and if a candidate from a third party were to rise to prominence, the situation in Taipei, where all city councilors in effect are members of the opposition, might repeat itself in the legislature, causing even more legislative deadlocks.
Taiwan missed an opportunity to revise the Constitution in 2008 and restore the legislature’s right to approve the premier. In retrospect, this has brought no advantages to the president and the ruling party: On the contrary, they have placed themselves in an even more hazardous constitutional crisis than former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) faced.
The leaders of both the ruling and the opposition parties should be more cautious and avoid repeating mistakes.
Hu Tsu-ching is an associate professor of political science at Tunghai University.
Translated by Ethan Zhan
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