In parliamentary regimes, the highest status among public authorities is given to the President, not because he or she is the most powerful authority, but because the objectives which s/he has to pursue are perceived as standing above and beyond those of partisan politics. On the other hand, it is to pursue these objectives that constitutions entrust the President with specifically determined powers, merely formal or also substantial. It follows from this that, in the exercise of such powers, the President not only has to behave impartially, but must also be seen to behave in this manner.