Changes

Many parliaments are made up of two different houses - for example Australia's House of Representatives and Senate.  The electoral systems of the two houses are usually different meaning the mix of MPs from the various parties will also generally differ.

Many parliaments are made up of two different houses - for example Australia's House of Representatives and Senate.  The electoral systems of the two houses are usually different meaning the mix of MPs from the various parties will also generally differ.

Usually in a parliamentary system, the government is formed by [[MP|MPs]] from the party which has the majority of members.  The leader of that party is the head of government, often called the [[Prime Minister]].  As the government party has a majority of members, it can usually expect to win any votes in the parliament.  In the situation where no one party has a majority, there are two possibilities. A minority goverment with members of one party only, which must rely on the support from members of other parties to win votes. The other possibility is a formal arrangement between two or more parties to form a coalition government with a majority of votes, where the government members are from all coalition partners.

Usually in a parliamentary system, the government is formed by [[MP|MPs]] from the party which has the majority of members.  The leader of that party is the head of government, often called the [[Prime Minister]].  As the government party has a majority of members, it can usually expect to win any votes in the parliament.  In the situation where no one party has a majority, there are two possibilities. The first is a minority goverment with members of one party only, which must rely on the support from members of other parties to win votes. The other possibility is a formal arrangement between two or more parties to form a coalition government with a majority of MPs, where the government members are from all coalition partners.

This contrasts to presidential systems, where the members of the government (in particular the President) are not members of the legislature.

This contrasts with presidential systems, where the members of the government (in particular the President) are not members of the legislature.

The [[Prime Minister]] is not elected for a fixed term, but serves for as long as he has the "confidence" of Parliament -- that is, as long as he enjoys their support.  Usually, the [[Prime Minister]] (and the rest of the government) is removed after an election at which his party failed to retain a majority in parliament.  Occasionally, most often during a period of minority government, the [[Prime Minister]] is removed upon losing a vote of no confidence, or resigns after losing a major vote on an issue they have championed (as [[Italy|Italian]] [[Prime Minister]] [[Romano Prodi]] did in February 2007).  In other cases members of the government party may choose to change their leader in which case the new leader becomes Prime Minister, as happened in to [[Margaret Thatcher]] in [[Britain]] in 1990.

The [[Prime Minister]] is not elected for a fixed term, but serves for as long as he has the "confidence" of Parliament -- that is, as long as he enjoys their support.  Usually, the [[Prime Minister]] (and the rest of the government) is removed after an election at which his party failed to retain a majority in parliament.  Occasionally, most often during a period of minority government, the [[Prime Minister]] is removed upon losing a vote of no confidence, or resigns after losing a major vote on an issue they have championed (as [[Italy|Italian]] [[Prime Minister]] [[Romano Prodi]] did in February 2007).  In other cases members of the government party may choose to change their leader in which case the new leader becomes Prime Minister, as happened in to [[Margaret Thatcher]] in [[Britain]] in 1990.