The problem in Asia often arises from something the French call “cohabitation” – an awkward arrangement by which a directly elected president must co-exist with a parliament controlled by a rival party or parties. The United States and Europe’s mature democracies may function well enough with the “checks and balances” of divided government (though the Republicans’ bid to impeach President Clinton eight years ago might suggest otherwise), but in Asia the failure to bestow executive and legislative powers on a single institution is usually a terrible drawback.