Claim: Spain is a country.

A parliamentary system is a system of democratic governance of a state where the executive branch derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the confidence of the legislative branch , typically a parliament , and is also held accountable to that parliament . In a parliamentary system , the head of state is usually a different person from the head of government . This is in contrast to a presidential system , where the head of state often is also the head of government , and most importantly , the executive branch does not derive its democratic legitimacy from the legislature .   Countries with parliamentary systems may be constitutional monarchies , where a monarch is the head of state while the head of government is almost always a member of parliament -LRB- such as the United Kingdom , Denmark , Sweden and Japan -RRB- , or parliamentary republics , where a mostly ceremonial president is the head of state while the head of government is regularly from the legislature -LRB- such as Ireland , Germany , India and Italy -RRB- . In a few parliamentary republics , such as Botswana , South Africa , and Suriname , among some others , the head of government is also head of state , but is elected by and is answerable to parliament . In bicameral parliaments , the head of government is generally , though not always , a member of the lower house .