Head of government

The head of government is the leader of the government or cabinet.

A parliamentary prime minister

In parliamentary systems, government functions along the following lines:

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• The formation of a government answerable to parliament by a member (sometimes the leader) of the party or parties;
• Full answerability of that government to parliament through
• The ability of parliament to pass a vote of no confidence.
• The requirement that the government gain and hold supply.
• Answerability for its actions to whichever house (almost invariably the lower house) controls 'supply'.

All of these directly impact on the prime ministerial role, often requiring that the Prime Minister play a 'day to day' role on the floor of the House, answering questions and defending 'his' government on the 'floor of the House'. In contrast, prime ministers in semi-presidential systems may be required to play less of a role in the functioning of parliament.

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Appointing the prime minister

In some states, a head of government is elected by parliament. In many, they are commissioned to form a government by the head of state, on the basis of the strength of party support in the lower house. Many parliamentary systems require ministers to serve in parliament, while others ban ministers from sitting in parliament, they resigning on becoming ministers.

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Removing the prime minister

Prime ministers are typically removed from power in a parliamentary system by

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• Resignation, following:
• Defeat in a general election
• Defeat in a leadership vote at their party caucus, to be replaced by another member of the same party
• Defeat in a parliamentary vote on a major issue. Eg. loss of supply, loss of confidence, or defeat on a major parliamentary vote on an important bill (alternatively a prime minister, if so defeated, may usually seek a parliamentary dissolution from the head of state).
• Dismissal
  Some constitutions allow a head of state or a governor-general to dismiss a prime minister, though its use can be controversial, as occurred in 1975 when then Australian Governor-General Sir John Kerr dismissed prime minister Gough Whitlam in the Australian Constitutional Crisis.
• Death, after which the deputy prime minister typically acts as prime minister until a new prime minister is appointed

First among equals or dominating the cabinet?

Constitutions differ in how many powers they give to prime ministership; indeed some older constitutions (for example, Australia's 1900 text, and Belgium's 1830 text) never mentioned the office of prime minister at all, the office becoming a de facto reality without formal constitutional status. Some constitutions make a prime minister primus inter pares (first among equals) and that remains the practical reality in places like Finland and Belgium. Other states however, make their prime minister a central and dominant figure within the cabinet system; Ireland's Taoiseach, for example, alone can decide when to seek a parliamentary dissolution, in contrast to other countries where this is a cabinet decision, with the Prime Minister just one member voting on the suggestion. Under the UK's constitution, the Prime Minister's role has evolved, based often on the personal appeal and strength of character, as contrasted between, for example, Winston Churchill as against Clement Attlee, Margaret Thatcher as against John Major.

Related Topics:
First among equals - Taoiseach - UK's constitution - Winston Churchill - Clement Attlee - Margaret Thatcher - John Major

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In a number of states the allegation has been made that the increased personalisation of leadership, a product in part on media coverage of politics that focuses on the leader and his or her mandate, rather than on parliament, and also on the increasing centralisation of power in the hands of the prime minister, has led to accusations of prime ministers becoming themselves semi-presidential figures. Such allegations have been made against two recent British prime ministers, Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair. It was made against then Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau and against the then Chancellor of West Germany and later Germany Helmut Kohl.

Related Topics:
Margaret Thatcher - Tony Blair - Pierre Trudeau - Chancellor - West Germany - Germany - Helmut Kohl

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