Evaluation Of The Best Political System In Europe
Every class society is politically formed; it has a power mechanism ensuring its normal functioning as a single social organism. This mechanism is called the political system. The concept of a political system is one of the main studies in political science. Its use makes it possible to distinguish political life from the rest of the life of society, which can be considered an “environment” or “surroundings,” and at the same time establish the existence of some connections between them. The political system consists of many subsystems, structures and processes, it interacts with other subsystems: social, economic, ideological, cultural, legal.
The limits of the political system are determined by the boundaries within which the political decisions of this system are obligatory and actually implemented. In the case of the legislative system, we are talking about the operation of the law in a certain territory, in the case of a municipality - its acts are limited to its territory, in the case of a political party - the limits of the statute, program, party decisions are taken into account. I have chosen to base my essay on one of the Scandinavian countries, Finland, since its political structure is one of the most interesting in Europe and in the European Union.
The state infrastructure of Finland is considered one the best in the world and includes many elements whose creation goes back into the country's long history: the rule of law, clearly defined property rights, transparency and efficiency of the bureaucratic apparatus that form the basis of a market economy. The above elements should be in any market economy. Currently, there are no fundamental differences between these elements in Finland and other Western European countries. In Finland, these elements have existed for several centuries. The political system did not affect them, and they remained unchanged throughout the entire period of industrialization. Indeed, the bureaucracy has incremented with the increase in the share of the public sector in GDP. However, the ability of the state to guarantee the rule of law, the transparency of the bureaucracy and property rights are in fact irrelevant to the share of the public sector in GDP.
The public sector’s share in Finland’s GDP is approximately 45%. This indicator is close to the OECD average. Finland is a democratic unitary legal state with a republican form of government. Four constitutional laws constitute together the Constitution: Act on the form of government (adopted July 17, 1919 — amendments and additions were made in 1926, 1930, 1943, 1955, 1992 and 2000), Act on the right of parliament to control the legality of the activities of the State Council and Chancellor of Justice 1922, Law on the High Court (1922) and the Parliamentary Statutes (1928).
In accordance with the changes of the constitutional acts of 2000, the country moved from presidential to parliamentary democracy. According to the Electoral Act 1998 established election 4 levels: in the Eduskunta - unicameral parliament, presidential elections, elections to the local authorities (446 municipalities) and the election of 16 deputies in the European Parliament (since 1999). The right to vote is granted to all citizens who have reached the age of 18. Administratively, Finland is divided into 6 provinces, which are subdivided into counties. The head of state is the President, Sauli Niinistö since March 20012, elected by the people by direct vote for a period of 6 years (in the period between 1919-94 elections were held in two stages). The President has the legal right to initiate legislation, sending his draft laws to the Finnish Parliament.
At the request of parliamentarians, a presidential bill can be sent for approval, for analysis and discussion to the Supreme Court of Finland. The highest legislative body - Eduskunt - unicameral parliament, consisting of 200 deputies elected by the population for 4 years on the system of proportional representation. The head of the highest executive body, the State Council, is the Prime Minister. The current Prime Ministeri is Juha Sipilä since May 2015, leader of the Centre Party (Suomen Keskusta)Local government in the provinces (lääni) is exercised by a board headed by a governor appointed by the President. As for the Aland Islands, under the province Ahvenanma) granted partial autonomy. Local governments in communes - city and village councils elected for 4 years.
The next parliamentary elections will be held in April 2019, i twill be a sort of a test of the strength of a deeper, long-term political trend related to the peculiarities of the Finnish political system, which occupies a special place between parliamentarism and an effective semi-presidential regime. Such a combination (this term coined by French political analyst Maurice Duverger) represents, on the one hand, a commitment to democratic values, and on the other, a significant concentration of power in the hands of the president, who is the head of the executive branch. One of the first to adopt such a form of government was the Weimar Republic in Germany (1919-1933). In the historical context since the first constitution of the country in 1919, the stake was placed on the leadership qualities of the president, it was supposed to be given wide powers. The Constitution of 1919 created a rare political opportunity for the realization of such a phenomenon, which later in the academic debate of political scientists, lawyers, experts in international affairs was called the “semi-presidential regime”.
The Finnish public administration system until 2000 was a unique example in the world of politics. It reflected the dilemma of a particular country, "located on the geopolitical turn of the West and forced to cooperate with the East. " The semi-presidential government thus expressed the desire of the nation to preserve its own identity throughout the history. The combination of the normative factor and the real possibilities for governing the country does not fully reveal the system of relations, the nature and context of that difficult historical period. The reality was such that a peculiar national model emerged, a sui generis system, which is still of interest and is likely to be the object of analysis and heated debate for a long time. It is characteristic that although with this model the parliament forms the government, it cannot express a vote of no confidence in it. The president has the right to early dissolution of the parliament, and can de facto control his activities.
The 1919 Constitution of Finland, in turn, established such an institutional structure of the state, which was based on semi-presidential administration and division into three branches of government - legislative, executive and judicial. The first specific characteristic of presidential powers, even in this dualistic system, is that the supreme executive power belongs to the head of state. According to the results of the elections, he can appoint the Prime Minister, who later forms his cabinet. The President is not only a key figure in the domestic policy of the country, but also in the external one, since he defines relations with other sovereign powers and makes decisions with regard to international organizations and conferences. As for the legislative power, it is interesting that these powers of the parliament are based on cooperation with the president of the republic.
The latter may even initiate new legislation or repeal existing legislation. The president has another important prerogative. He can repeal all government bills, even those that have not yet been considered in parliament. The president has the authority to delay the ratification of all parliamentary acts before they acquire the force of law. After motivated consultations with the prime minister and the chairman of parliament (as well as parliamentary groups), the president can dissolve parliament and call early parliamentary elections. Analyzing the legislative initiatives of the President of Finland, one can find one aspect that can potentially expand his powers. The parliamentary majority, like the head of state, often belongs to the same political party, but in practice the influence of the president may increase due to the adoption of laws that have been initiated by other leading political forces represented in parliament. Such a procedure is seemingly formally permissible, but it is also being criticized because of violations of certain boundaries of presidential powers. The parliamentary-presidential republic is a form of government that finds a certain balance between the president and parliament. The highest executive power in Suomi belongs to the president, who is elected for a six-year term by direct popular vote.
According to the 2000 constitution, the legislative power belongs to him and Eduskunte - the country's parliament, and the executive power - to the president and the State Council (government). The Finnish political system is thus an interesting object for modern international legal and political analysis. In this case, the interest is not the division of powers itself, the phenomenon of a strong president in the country's political system or specific constitutional laws, but the traditions of the political system, political culture and history. The experience and ability of the Finns to adapt and balance in a complex geopolitical context is especially attractive. Finland’s geopolitical positions and trends in global international politics have certainly had a strong influence on the political and social life of this small country in the North of Europe.
Finland is a convincing example of how important and possible it is for a single nation to be able to protect their identity, unity and independence, relying on the functions of a national leader that are entrusted to the president. In the post-bipolar period, the country entered into an uneasy political-constitutional process of reducing presidential powers in order to switch to the traditional parliamentary system of power in the Old World. This process was intensified with the acquisition of full membership in the EEC / EU in 1995, when tips, instructions and direct recommendations on dismantling a strong presidential national center of power followed from Brussels. Despite the tendency to reduce the role of the president in the state administration system, which was implemented by the 2000 Constitution, the Finnish society still has a strong nostalgia, an acute need for a strong leader who can take the country out of economic turmoil, the complex vicissitudes of European and world politics. In conclusion of my work, I would like to say that according Finland has a good rating on governance at the highest state level and the lowest level of corruption in the world.
In addition, the judicial system of the country is effective and fair, and the current legislation stimulates the lawful conduct of business and the payment of taxes. Finland leads in the field of public policy transparency. Moreover, research shows that Finnish legislation is one of the most effective in the world. It should be noted that the reliability and efficiency of the above elements became possible because they have not changed over the centuries. In order to stimulate internationalization, Finland became a member of the European Union, and then a member of the European Monetary System. Both of these decisions showed Finland’s willingness to become part of a united Europe. Participation in the EMU provides good competitive business opportunities within the system itself, while the EMU’s share in Finland’s exports is almost 30%. It should be noted, however, that not only one state guarantees the preservation of a country's competitiveness, it is a process of joint activity of all members of society.
The Finnish government ensures the presence of certain elements and institutions of stability that form the basis of a country's competitiveness. Despite periodic changes in the global economy, the state maintains a high degree of readiness for various changes. When the ICT boom suddenly appeared in the country, thanks to this readiness, the country had an excellent opportunity to adapt to the conditions of the “new world economy”. Finland is the country on which it is possible and necessary to be equal, since I have such small resources and territory, it has created such an effective state system that it can compete with large and developed countries of the West.
