The article raises the problem of the authoritarian potential rooted in the current institution of the presidency. The author’s position is that an institution of the presidency evolved from the institution of the monarch, and along with it, inherited its public law meaning. At the same time, the monarchical properties could not be "delegated" to the president only due to the fundamentally different nature of this institution. That is why President is not a republican copy of the monarch, but a replica. When the president assumes the highest position in the state system, as head of state, he tends to acquire monarchic qualities. Not because he wants to become a monarch, but because he wants to make his power virtually unlimited and indefinite, i.e. to establish a regime of personal power. This is an ontological danger, although certain conditions are necessary to realize an authoritarian rebirth. This paper outlines a new model for the institution of the presidency. In the author’s opinion, it can significantly reduce the likelihood of an authoritarian trend. The essence of the proposed model is a fundamental change in the very meaning of the head of state. It involves the transition from his role of a leader (whether actual or formal/nominal) to that of the guardian of the constitutional order. Here, the comprehension of the constitutional order itself is broad. In other words, it is not only an established system of state bodies acting within their competence but also the compliance of their activities with constitutional values (constitutionalism). The author argues that the new meaning of the institution of the presidency is not a reduction in the amount of power. In the author’s view, it is, first, a change in the focus and nature of power and, second, ensuring the political neutrality of the head of state. A set of measures can ensure the latter. And among them, the main is the complete removal of the President from the processes of current state administration. It does not mean for President to have only a ceremonial role. It means to focus exclusively on the protection and defense of the constitutional order. The paper concludes by describing some specific parameters that characterize the new understanding of the president.
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