Firstly, in the legislative field.
Prime Minister John Howard, leader of the center-right Liberal Party, was opposed, and might have been able to block legislative action because party discipline is considerably stronger here than in the United States.
While the new Joint Commission on Public Ethics will conduct investigations and issue reports, findings against lawmakers that are not criminal will be referred to the Legislative Ethics Commission for punishment — even though the legislative commission has been loath to discipline lawmakers in the past.
None of it had to do with Peña Nieto's "powerful legislative coalition," but rather the strict administration of discipline among the legion of young PRI legislators who coasted to office across the country under the onslaught of the soul-crushing PRI media machine.
The legislative and executive branches must maintain a level of discipline and focus now that we have seen only during the defining crises of our history.
There are costs here, too, he said, including "the displacement of legislative and executive power" and "the subordination of other disciplines and professions".
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is the undisputed master of the legislative process in Albany but has limited power to impose party discipline beyond his chamber.
Democratic legislative leaders also have echoed some of Brown's calls for fiscal discipline, and they're working with the governor to build a financial reserve to cushion the state against economic downturns.
They conclude that gridlock imposes discipline by reinforcing the most important principle in the American constitution frustrating legislative zealots.
The governor and legislative leaders are under pressure to make structural changes that will bring new discipline to state spending, but few expect them to do so.
