Rubber stamp (politics)
A rubber stamp, as a political metaphor, is a person or institution with considerable "de jure" power but little "de facto" power — one that rarely or never disagrees with more powerful organizations. Historian Edward S. Ellis called this type of legislature a toy parliament. In situations where this superior official's signature may frequently be required for routine paperwork, a literal rubber stamp is used, with a likeness of their hand-written signature. In essence, the term is meant to convey an endorsement without careful thought or personal investment in the outcome, especially since it is usually  expected as the stamper's duty to do so. In the situation where a dictator's legislature is a "rubber stamp", the orders they are meant to endorse are formalities they are expected to legitimize, and are usually done to create the superficial appearance of legislative and dictatorial harmony rather than because they have actual power. In a constitutional monarchy or parliamentary republic, heads of state are typically "rubber stamps" (or figureheads) to an elected parliament, even if they legally possess considerable reserve powers or disagree with the parliament's decisions. Rubber-stamp legislatures may occur even in democratic countries  if the institutional arrangement allows for it. Examples. Historian Edward S. Ellis called this type of legislature a toy parliament, with specific reference to Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II's General Assembly of the Ottoman Empire, created in 1876 with the sole purpose of appeasing the European powers. One of the most famous examples of a rubber stamp institution is the Reichstag of Nazi Germany, which unanimously confirmed all decisions already made by Adolf Hitler and the highest-ranking members of the Nazi Party. Many legislatures of authoritarian and totalitarian countries are considered as rubber stamps, such as communist parliaments  like the Chinese National People's Congress, or the Italian Chamber of Fasces and Corporations during the Fascist regime. Unlike in the United States Congress, where the legislative leadership is exercised by a Leader of the House Majority chosen separately from the President of the United States, the dominant figure in the French Fifth Republic's National Assembly is a presidentially-appointed Prime Minister (who is still dependent on the parliamentary majority's support). Since the French National Assembly is elected two months after the President, which results in a coattail effect guaranteeing the President's party a parliamentary majority , the French President can effectively control the legislative agenda through appointing a subordinate as Prime Minister. During the reign of Adolf Frederick, King of Sweden (1751–71), the Riksdag of the Estates had the power to sign binding documents with a literal name stamp, sometimes against the will of the king who by law was an absolute monarch. Then-king Baudouin of Belgium, because of his religious objections, refused to sign a bill liberalizing abortions in April 1990. Instead he requested that the country's Parliament declare him temporarily unable to reign. That effectively transferred his powers to the Cabinet, for  a single day, consequentially overriding his veto.