4. The Party Leader in Government

Thanks to the process of the presidentialization of politics, party leaders are gaining a crucial position in legislative and governmental activities. An increasing number of contemporary democracies show the combining of the figures of chief executive and party leaders, as well as in countries with different political histories. Many empirical indicators testify that leader-centered executives are becoming the dominant actors in many countries, and they are gradually expropriating parliamentary chambers of their previous law-making leverage. Yet, while the personalization of politics has strengthened the leader, he may experience more difficulties in conducting and disciplining his own party. In this chapter, both the increasing power of party leaders in the institutional arena as well as data presenting the lack of cohesion of political parties in the legislative arena will be examined.