From Parliamentarisation Towards Presidentialisation: Institutional Aspects of Local Political Leadership in Slovenia

Abstract In this paper, the authors analyse the institutional aspects of local governance. After the local government reforms, two main currents of change were created among European countries, namely the (quasi-) parliamentarisation administration systems committees, and (quasi-) presidentialisation through the form of elected mayors. Through an overview of the changes in the Slovenian local self-government in the last two decades, the authors determine a gradual transition from parliamentarism (with a relatively strong legislative body, municipal council) to the strengthening of the individual executive body (mayor), e.g. presidentialisation. By using the calculated index of mayoral strength, the authors conclude that according to the mayoral institutional power, the Slovenian system of local self-government is closer to the countries with (post) Napoleonic administrative tradition than to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.