Parliament

The highest representative institution in bourgeois states. The first parliament was formed in England in the 13th century as a body of class representation. Parliaments did not acquire real importance until after the bourgeois revolutions of the 17th and 18th centuries.
The term “parliament” is used to describe the representative bodies in many countries, including Great Britain, France, Italy, Canada, Belgium, and India. In the USA and the Latin American countries the highest representative body is called Congress; in Sweden, the Riksdag; and in Norway, the Storting. Parliaments may be either unicameral or bicameral. States with a federal form of government have a bicameral parliamentary system (the USA, Canada, the Federal Republic of Germany [FRG], and Australia, for example). Unicameral parliaments and the lower chambers of bicameral parliaments are always formed by direct elections. The upper chamber is formed either by direct elections (the USA, Italy) or indirect (multistage) elections (India, France). Some members of the upper chamber are appointed to their seats or inherit them (Great Britain and Canada). For the preliminary investigation of proposed laws or other questions, parliamentary chambers form committees or commissions, which play an important role in many countries. In the majority of the capitalist countries, the parliamentary body is in session all year, except during holiday recesses. Deputies receive a salary—that is, they are professional representatives. As a rule, bicameral parliaments were established in Western European bourgeois countries as a specific compromise between the bourgeoisie and aristocracy during the period of bourgeois revolutions.
The functions of parliaments include legislation, approval of the state budget, ratification of international agreements, and appointment of bodies for constitutional supervision. In countries where the government is responsible to the parliament, the parliament forms and supervises the government. In some countries (the FRG and Italy) the parliament elects the president of the republic, following a special procedure.
Bourgeois ideologists consider parliament the highest manifestation of popular rule and democracy. In reality, the majority in the parliaments of all bourgeois countries represents the exploiter classes, and the parliament itself is a link in the dictatorial rule of monopoly capital. The bourgeoisie prevents the true representatives of the people from participating in parliament by its control of the right to vote (the basis, either in full or in part, for the formation of parliaments), as well as by its methods of organizing and holding elections. For example, there are no workers in the US Congress. In the British House of Commons elected in 1970, there were a total of 38 workers, and workers constitute only 7 percent of the Bundestag in the FRG. However, even a small working-class representation forces monopolistic circles to curtail the functions of parliament in the bourgeois state, so that many parliamentary bodies are merely formal, and the most important roles in bourgeois governments are played by executive bodies. They direct the parliament’s legislative activity, draw up and implement the budget, and conduct foreign affairs. As a rule, parliaments have no effective apparatus for controlling the swollen bureaucratic machine. Through its political parties, with their parliamentary fractions, monopoly capital directs parliaments to act in its interests.
The real role of a parliament in the political life of a country is determined by the sharpness of class contradictions, which is reflected in the relations among party fractions in parliament; the degree of development of parliamentary institutions; and the strength and influence of working-class organizations.
M. V. BAGLAI
Category:Politics