Leaders debate
Encyclopedia
In jurisdictions which use the parliamentary system
of government
or a similar system, leaders debates are often held, usually during a general election
campaign. These debate
s are normally televised
and are often organized by one or more television station
s.
and Richard Nixon
would eventually spur the desire to hold similar, televised debates in countries under the parliamentary system. Television had quickly proven to be an excellent and efficient means of reaching out to large blocs of the electorate. The unique aspect of the parliamentary system which creates the desire to hold leaders debates is that the party
leader is usually the party's presumed candidate to lead the government, because by constitutional convention
he or she will usually become prime minister
or premier
if his or her party wins the most seats. However, a leaders debate is not technically a candidates debate in the same sense that an American presidential debate would be, because in the latter case the American political parties have explicitly nominated the named individuals as their candidates for president
and vice president
.
Leaders debates are often popular with voters, whose decisions might be greatly influenced by the outcome. Leaders have occasionally attempted to use prop
s (such as chart
s or signs bearing slogan
s) during a debate with varying degrees of success.
s will ask sets of prepared questions, which are to be answered either by all of the leaders or by one specific leader. After the leader(s) answer each question, the other leader(s) may get a chance to make a brief response, after which there may be some time allocated for an often heated "free for all" debate. The moderator will usually attempt to exercise some control through all of this, and then stop the debate after time has elapsed so the next question can be asked. After the panelists finish asking questions, each leader will make his or her closing remarks and the debate will end.
Who gets invited to participate in a leaders debate is often a sensitive issue. Some jurisdictions may have dozens of fringe political parties which few networks would care to have participating in their debates. For the sake of brevity, and to ensure the leaders of the main parties have adequate time to address voters on a wide range of issues, it is extremely rare for any leaders debate to have more than five leaders. A more common number would be three. Leaders debates are often restricted to parties which elected representatives in the previous election. Exceptions may be made for parties with close to a full slate of candidates, but this is not always the case. For example, in Canada
in the 2004
and 2006
the Green Party of Canada
was excluded from the federal leaders debates until 2008
when public pressure on the other parties allowed the Green Party to join the debate, and the Alberta Alliance was excluded from the Alberta
n provincial leaders debate, even though both parties had full slates in their respective elections. Parties that are excluded will often complain bitterly about their exclusion, sometimes claiming that the political establishment has conspired in an effort to keep their party on the political fringe. The inclusion of certain parties in debates can be controversial too. A common complaint about the Canadian debates is voiced by a report from the Centre for the Study of Democracy
, which calls for the Bloc Québécois
, a party only active in mostly French-speaking Quebec, to be removed from its current position in the English-language debates.
Parliamentary system
A parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive branch get their democratic legitimacy from the legislature and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined....
of government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
or a similar system, leaders debates are often held, usually during a general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
campaign. These debate
Debate
Debate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...
s are normally televised
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and are often organized by one or more television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
s.
History
The success of early televised debates such as the 1960 American presidential debate between John F. KennedyJohn F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
and Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
would eventually spur the desire to hold similar, televised debates in countries under the parliamentary system. Television had quickly proven to be an excellent and efficient means of reaching out to large blocs of the electorate. The unique aspect of the parliamentary system which creates the desire to hold leaders debates is that the party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
leader is usually the party's presumed candidate to lead the government, because by constitutional convention
Constitutional convention (political custom)
A constitutional convention is an informal and uncodified procedural agreement that is followed by the institutions of a state. In some states, notably those Commonwealth of Nations states that follow the Westminster system and whose political systems derive from British constitutional law, most...
he or she will usually become prime minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
or premier
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in some countries and states.-Examples by country:In many nations, "premier" is used interchangeably with "prime minister"...
if his or her party wins the most seats. However, a leaders debate is not technically a candidates debate in the same sense that an American presidential debate would be, because in the latter case the American political parties have explicitly nominated the named individuals as their candidates for president
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
and vice president
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
.
Leaders debates are often popular with voters, whose decisions might be greatly influenced by the outcome. Leaders have occasionally attempted to use prop
Theatrical property
A theatrical property, commonly referred to as a prop, is an object used on stage by actors to further the plot or story line of a theatrical production. Smaller props are referred to as "hand props". Larger props may also be set decoration, such as a chair or table. The difference between a set...
s (such as chart
Chart
A chart is a graphical representation of data, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart"...
s or signs bearing slogan
Slogan
A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a political, commercial, religious and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose. The word slogan is derived from slogorn which was an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic sluagh-ghairm . Slogans vary from the written and the...
s) during a debate with varying degrees of success.
Format
The exact format for a leaders debate varies, but normally the debate will begin with each leader making a short opening statement. Then a panel of well-known journalistJournalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
s will ask sets of prepared questions, which are to be answered either by all of the leaders or by one specific leader. After the leader(s) answer each question, the other leader(s) may get a chance to make a brief response, after which there may be some time allocated for an often heated "free for all" debate. The moderator will usually attempt to exercise some control through all of this, and then stop the debate after time has elapsed so the next question can be asked. After the panelists finish asking questions, each leader will make his or her closing remarks and the debate will end.
Who gets invited to participate in a leaders debate is often a sensitive issue. Some jurisdictions may have dozens of fringe political parties which few networks would care to have participating in their debates. For the sake of brevity, and to ensure the leaders of the main parties have adequate time to address voters on a wide range of issues, it is extremely rare for any leaders debate to have more than five leaders. A more common number would be three. Leaders debates are often restricted to parties which elected representatives in the previous election. Exceptions may be made for parties with close to a full slate of candidates, but this is not always the case. For example, in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in the 2004
Canadian federal election, 2004
The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...
and 2006
Canadian federal election, 2006
The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...
the Green Party of Canada
Green Party of Canada
The Green Party of Canada is a Canadian federal political party founded in 1983 with 10,000–12,000 registered members as of October 2008. The Greens advance a broad multi-issue political platform that reflects its core values of ecological wisdom, social justice, grassroots democracy and...
was excluded from the federal leaders debates until 2008
Canadian federal election, 2008
The 2008 Canadian federal election was held on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the previous parliament had been dissolved by the Governor General on September 7, 2008...
when public pressure on the other parties allowed the Green Party to join the debate, and the Alberta Alliance was excluded from the Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
n provincial leaders debate, even though both parties had full slates in their respective elections. Parties that are excluded will often complain bitterly about their exclusion, sometimes claiming that the political establishment has conspired in an effort to keep their party on the political fringe. The inclusion of certain parties in debates can be controversial too. A common complaint about the Canadian debates is voiced by a report from the Centre for the Study of Democracy
Centre for the Study of Democracy
The Centre for the Study of Democracy is a multidisciplinary policy studies research organization which enhances the study of democracy both within Canada and abroad. Founded in the mid-1990s, CSD is a non-profit, non-partisan organization affiliated with the School of Policy Studies at Queen’s...
, which calls for the Bloc Québécois
Bloc Québécois
The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...
, a party only active in mostly French-speaking Quebec, to be removed from its current position in the English-language debates.
Participating countries
The following countries hold leaders debates:- United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
- United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
- FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
- GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
- AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
- CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
- New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
- NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
- IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
- MaltaMaltaMalta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
See also
- Canadian leaders debatesCanadian leaders debatesCanadian leaders debates are leaders debates televised during federal elections in Canada, made up of two debates, one in French and one in English, usually held on back-to-back nights. The first time these debates were held was during the 1968 election...
- United Kingdom general election debates, 2010
- U.S. presidential election debates
- French presidential debatesFrench presidential debatesFrench presidential debates traditionally occur between the two rounds of the presidential elections, and are broadcast on TV.- 1974 :The role of TV in French presidential election became prominent after Charles de Gaulle's decision to propose a referendum on the establishment of the election of...
- DebateDebateDebate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...