Legislative parties and coalition government: horizontal control of public policy

Abstract

This article investigates the dynamics of political control between the Executive and Legislative in coalition governments, focusing on the effects of tasks delegation to the parties of multiparty cabinet government. We argue that the chances of horizontal control based on monitoring of mutual coalition parties vary according to the party, cabinet and characteristics of parliamentary committees. The empirical reference of the analysis corresponds to the presidential cabinets in Brazil in the period from 1995 to 2010. Results demonstrate that the ability of horizontal control over ​​a policy area by the ministerial party is related to the subject area considered, to the characteristics of the governing coalition and to the parties that occupy the ministries.

Keywords:
coalition government; presidentialism; horizontal control; parliamentary committee