PALGRAVE STUDIES IN PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS SERIES EDITORS: ROBERT ELGIE · GIANLUCA PASSARELLI Presidents in Semi-Presidential Regimes Moderating Power in Portugal and Timor-Leste Rui Graça Feijó Palgrave Studies in Presidential Politics Series Editors Robert Elgie School of Law & Government Dublin City University Dublin, Ireland Gianluca Passarelli Sapienza University of Rome Rome, Italy Palgrave Studies in Presidential Politics publishes books on all aspects of presidential politics. We welcome proposals for monographs, edited volumes and Pivots on topics such as: (cid:129) Contemporary presidencies and presidential powers (cid:129) Presidential elections and presidential party politics (cid:129) Presidential relations with the legislature (cid:129) The media and presidential communication (cid:129) The administrative presidency and presidential advisers (cid:129) The history of presidential offices and presidential biographies The series focuses on presidents throughout the world, including both directlyelectedandindirectlyelectedpresidents,bothsingle-countryand comparative studies of presidential politics. It also includes volumes on conceptual or theoretical aspects, such as how to measure presidential power. Moreover, the series considers book projects on the reform of presidential politics, e.g. the reform of presidential elections. For further information on the series and to submit a proposal for consideration, please get in touch with: (cid:129) Commissioning Editor Ambra Finotello ambra.fi[email protected] (cid:129) Series Editors Robert Elgie [email protected], and Gianluca Passarelli [email protected] More information about this series at http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/15600 Rui Graça Feijó Presidents in Semi-Presidential Regimes Moderating Power in Portugal and Timor-Leste Rui Graça Feijó CES—Centre for Social Studies University of Coimbra Coimbra, Portugal IHC—Institute for Contemporary History NOVA University of Lisbon Lisbon, Portugal Palgrave Studies in Presidential Politics ISBN 978-3-030-53179-9 ISBN 978-3-030-53180-5 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53180-5 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilarmethodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such namesareexemptfromtherelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreefor general use. Thepublisher,theauthorsandtheeditorsaresafetoassumethattheadviceandinforma- tion in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respecttothematerialcontainedhereinorforanyerrorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeen made.Thepublisherremainsneutralwithregardtojurisdictionalclaimsinpublishedmaps and institutional affiliations. Cover illustration: styf22/iStock/Getty Images Plus This Palgrave Pivot imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland To Mariana my little bird Acknowledgements In its early stages, the research embodied in this volume contributed the fundamentalbasisforanacademicexamthatgrantedmethetitleofAgre- gado (Habilitation) at the University of Coimbra (2017). I was encour- aged to apply for this exam as a freelancer, not as a regular academic, as I was at the time, by José Reis, by then the Director of the Faculty of Economics. He told me I was the third person in a similar situation to approach him, and he had given the green light to all of them; later he confided he had withheld a precious information: the previous two had given up, never coming to the exam. José Reis opened the doors for my determinationtoreachthehighestplatformthataPortuguesescholarcan haveathome,andIgladlysharemysuccesswithhim.Themembersofthe jury at Coimbra, namely José Manuel Pureza, Pedro Tavares de Almeida and above all António Costa Pinto made relevant comments that helped me develop my early ideas. As the famous Oxford don told the young student that went up to him for guidance and wisdom, “You see my boy, it always takes longer”—and this time it certainly did. The earlier text was the basis for a prolonged exchange with the late and dearly missed Robert Elgie. These were tough times, and the first draft of this book was back into the drawer for hibernation. When I had the courage to try again to make sense of my ideas in such a way that Robert and Gian- luca Passarelli could accept, Robert was sadly gone. I owe him a heartfelt “Thank you”, hoping he would have appreciated the new version which was discussed with Gianluca. We developed a kind relation verging on vii viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS friendship,whichinthecaseofanItalianandaPortugueseisnothardto happen. I gladly include Gianluca among those I feel this book owes its strength. Its weaknesses, of course, remain my full responsibility. The preparation of that exam was partially done in Oxford, where I was a Visiting Scholar at Nuffield College, thanks to the generosity of LaurenceWhitehead.HeandNancyBermeoprovidedgoodguidanceand lively debates. The late and dearly missed David Goldey was a constant source of enthusiasm and good advice; the late Hermínio Martins was alwaysaroundthen,andhisencyclopaedicknowledgeofthingsrelatedto Portugal never stopped to come into our conversations. Institutional funds were made available for part of the research that ultimately appears in this book. From 2011 to 2017 I benefitted from a Post-doctoral research grant provided by FCT, the Portuguese Founda- tionforScienceandTechnology(FCTSFRH/BPD/71238/2010forthe Project The Birth of a Democratic Nation—Timor-Leste 1999–2012). My work was also supported, both in Lisbon and Dili, by the Orient Foundation.IwishtothankDr.JoãoAmorimandDraIsabelCarvalho,in Lisbon. In the Dili delegation, Senhora Clotilde Quintão, Senhora Graça Viegas and more recently Dra Sónia Fonseca made my life all the more pleasurable. Both institutes I am affiliated with provided facilities for this work. In Coimbra, I extend my heartfelt recognition to the Director Emer- itus Boaventura de Sousa Santos, to Giovanni Allegretti (the soul of the doctoral programme on Democracy in the twenty-fisrt century), João Paulo Dias, João Neto and Acácio Machado on behalf of all the staff of the North/South Library. At the Institute for Contemporary History, all my gratitude goes to the Director, Pedro Aires Oliveira, a man of rare virtue. The last stages of preparation of this manuscript were the time of the Covid-19 pandemic, and they were lived in confinement in Moledo. Susana provided relentless companionship and made these days easier to live. Needlesstosay,Iassumefullresponsibilityforthemanyimperfections I could not master. Praise for Presidentsin Semi-PresidentialRegimes “Presidents in Semi-Presidential Regimes is an outstanding work of great analytical clarity. Written in an engaging and economical style, Rui Graça Feijó’s comparative exploration of presidential power shines new light on the historical evolution of these two political systems, and is essential to understandingrecentpoliticaldevelopmentsinbothcountries.Deserving of a wider audience beyond the scholarly communities of Portugal and Timor-Leste,itofferscompellinginsightintothesemi-presidentialsystem of government, and the distinctive and evolving role of directly-elected presidents within them.” —Michael Leach, Professor of Politics and International Relations, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia ix About This Book This book offers a comparative perspective on the semi-presidential regimes of Portugal and Timor-Leste, suggesting that they both reserve for presidents a “moderating power” in line with what was theorized by Benjamin Constant. Historical legacies, political culture and short-term political considera- tions combined to produce an institutional design that has endured and producedincentivestopower-sharingandinclusiveness.Acriticalelement of this model finds roots in the electoral system that facilitates the emer- gence of “independent” presidents with political platforms that tend to supersede those of political parties. Elected presidents dispose of an array of competences that do not overlap with those of prime ministers, but represent a category of its own. The vast array of presidential compe- tences contributes to reinforcing a system of checks and balances, and to foster horizontal accountability. The specific government form with “moderating powers” and presi- dents who are largely “independent” from the party system contributed to the successful democratic transitions of Portugal and Timor-Leste. xi