By way of DW, here is a good example of the “mostly” in the phrase I use from time to time to describe presidencies in parliamentary democracies as “mostly ceremonial”:
German President Horst Köhler exercised his first presidential veto on Tuesday, quashing a law that would have partially privatized air traffic control in Germany. But that doesn’t mean the issue is settled. [...]
In withholding his signature from the law, which was passed by a wide parliamentary majority and with support from opposition political parties, Köhler said the German constitution required the federal government to retain sovereignty over matters of public security.
It was the first time that Köhler has declared legislation passed by Germany’s two parliamentary bodies, the Bundestag and the Bundesrat, unconstitutional. A largely ceremonial position, the German president generally stays out of daily political discussions but is required to sign laws before the can take effect. [see full story]
Previous discussions here of the “mostly” in “mostly ceremonial”:
Italian presidency vote (8 May 2006)
Israel election on March 28, and a constitutional controversy (22 November 2005)
Should the President be elected by open vote? (24 October 2006)
The German confidence vote and election (26 August 2005)
Bangladesh president resigns as head of caretaker government
As soldiers enforce the state of emergency that he declared yesterday, Bangladeshi President Iajuddin Ahmed resigned as head of the interim caretaker government that serves in the period leading up to elections. He will remain as President (a “mostly ceremonial” post, as I often say). He has also delayed the elections from 22 January to an unspecified date.
Scion grafted by Fruits and Votes — 12 January 2007 @ 11:40
Premier Prachanda
While the presidency should be mostly ceremonial given the parliamentary form of Nepal’s interim governing arrangements, the non-Maoist parties combined to prevent the Maoist candidate from winning the presidency. The Maoists apparently had expected that their plurality of votes and seats would ensure them of both the presidency and the prime ministership, but the presidential selection process gave them an immediate lesson in the workings of parliamentary democracy.
Scion grafted by Fruits and Votes — 18 August 2008 @ 15:10