ABSTRACT
A new form of government justifies its existence and persistence whether and when its actual functioning proves that it is capable of providing political and institutional advantages clearly outweighing and outnumbering conceivable and practical disadvantages. Though extolled and criticized in a variety of ways, semi-presidentialism in its many different versions has not been subject to such a demanding scrutiny. Within the limits of my knowledge, this is the task I want to fulfil in this chapter. Hence, after a brief excursus on an historic case of semipresidentialism, that is, the Weimar Republic (1919-33), I will first proceed to consider the actual working of semi-presidentialism in three quite different political systems: France, Portugal, Poland. Then, I will identify more precisely which seem to be the theoretical and practical advantages and disadvantages of semi-presidentialism, with specific reference to the overall contribution of its institutional and constitutional features the working of the political system. Finally, I will offer some reflections on why I believe that cohabitation must not necessarily be considered a drawback of semi-presidentialism, but it may entail some positive systemic consequences.
