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Power of the Prime Minister
The Prime Minister is the head of government in the British Isles and
is therefore supposedly the most powerful person in the Isles. The
Prime Minister is appointed by the currently reigning Monarch after a
general election and is, according to tradition, usually the leader of
the political party which wins the most seats in the House of Commons
in the aforementioned general election. The Monarch is not obliged by
law to appoint the leader of this party however previous Monarchs have
set a precedent by which the Monarch is expected to abide. If the
King/Queen were to try and appoint anyone other than the leader of the
largest party it is likely that that person would forward a motion to
abolish the Monarchy. In this essay I will be looking at and assessing
the power the Prime Minister possesses. I will also be examining how
the power held by the Prime Minister is regulated and what measures
are in place to keep a check on it.
In order to understand the power that the Prime Minister holds it may
be necessary to take a brief look at the history of the office of the
PM. The origins of the office lie in the ‘Glorious Revolution’ of 1688
whereby the Monarchy was reinstalled post-civil war. The then king
William of Orange appointed a group of ministers in a cabinet to head
parliament. This was the first real delegation of power by a Monarch
to parliament but ultimately all key decisions were still taken by the
Monarch. It was not until the time of George I that any further
progress towards the establishment of a Prime Minister was made. King
George did not attend cabinet meetings and so meetings were
conse...
... middle of paper ...
...use of commons and also upon popular
opinion in the electorate and attitudes in the party’’.
-Sir Richard Wilson
In theory the PM is the most powerful person in these Isles; however,
there are a number of limiting factors placed upon this power. From
the lowliest voter to the highest civil servant to the opposition
leader everyone has a certain amount of power with which they can
constrain a PM to prevent the establishment of a tyrannous
dictatorship or worse. The PM’s power is a variable whilst freewill
remains a constant.
Bibliography:
Richard Crossman, ‘The English Constitution’ (1960)
Tony Benn, ‘Benn’s Ten Powers’ (1981)
Michael Foley, ‘The British Presidency’
Various Contributors, ‘Transforming British Government Vol.1’ (2000)
Philip Norton’s ‘Styles Of Leadership Thesis Paper’ (1987)
Lowi, Theodore J, et al. American Government Power & Purpose. 12th Ed. New York: W. W.
Our Constitution establishes three branches of government and defines their very existence. The reason for the three branches is to separate the powers. The phrase “separation of powers” isn’t in the constitution, but it best explains the intention of the Constitution. It is essential that the assignment of lawmaking, enforcing and interpreting be spread out among the separated powers to ensure that all power doesn’t fall into the lap of one group, or even a power-hungry individual. The powers of which I’m speaking that were intentionally separated by way of the Constitution are the Legislative Branch, Executive Branch and finally, the Judicial Branch.
Shogan, Colleen. Washington, George. In Genovese, Michael A. Encyclopedia of the American Presidency Revised Edition. New York: Facts on File, Inc., 2009. Web. .
Political scientists have continually searched for methods that explain presidential power and success derived from using that power effectively. Five different approaches have been argued including the legal approach, presidential roles approach, Neustadtian approach, institutional approach, and presidential decision-making approach. The legal approach says that all power is derived from a legal authority (U.S. Constitution). The presidential roles approach contends that a president’s success is derived from balancing their role as head of state and head of government. The Neustadtian approach contends that “presidential power is the power to persuade“ (Neustadt, p. 11). The institutional approach contends that political climate and institutional relations are what determines presidential power. The last approach, decision-making, provides a more psychological outlook that delves into background, management styles, and psychological dispositions to determine where a president’s idea of power comes from. From all of these, it is essential to study one at a time in order to analyze the major components of each approach for major strengths and weaknesses.
Presidents of the United States take an oath to uphold the Constitution. In times of crisis, however, presidents are tempted to circumvent the spirit of the Constitution in the name of political expediency. The president of the United States of America is frequently under pressure, which could be for something as simple as dealing with his wife (especially if she's running for the US Senate), but usually the problem is more extensive. Then, the whole nation is affected, and the problem becomes a national crisis. A widespread panic is possible. The president must propose a plan to aid his nation while keeping the public under control. Lincoln. Roosevelt and Truman proposed bills to stop or prevent the national crises that plagued the country.
Wilson, James Q., and John J. DiIulio, Jr. American Government. Ninth ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000. Print.
Presidential power can be viewed in terms of Domestic and Foreign affairs. This chapter discusses how the presiden’ts normal problem with domestic policy is to get congressional support for the programs he prefers, while in foreign affairs he can almost always get support for policies that he believes will protect the nation. The president soon discovers that he has more policy preference in domestic matters than in foreign policy.
The President has many duties and responsibilities, some of which many may be unaware. The President has these powers so that they can try to make our country a better, safer place to live. However, they also have limits to these powers so we do not turn into a dictatorship. Some of these powers are stated in the Constitution known as expressed powers, the others are implied powers obtained throughout history.
While relationship between the legislative, executive and judiciary largely remained the same, the public perception of President’s place in system has changed (Jeffrey Tulis, 1990). In the twentieth century, a strong executive emerged and was institutionalized in American national politics. Even though the framers anticipated that Congress would be the predominant branch of government, contemporary presidents wield formidable formal and informal resources of governance. As a result, the public expectations of presidents have grown and created a gap between expectations and formal powers. In an attempt to explain presidential power and its limits, four major often conflicting theories of presidential power has emerged in the last four decades.
Richard E. Neustadt, the author of Presidential Power, addresses the politics of leadership and how the citizens of the United States rate the performance of the president's term. We measure his leadership by saying that he is either "weak or "strong" and Neustadt argues that we have the right to do so, because his office has become the focal point of politics and policy in our political system.
The power of the Executive branch has expanded over time to become the most authoritative division of government. In contrast to the Constitution 's fundamental designer, James Madison, who predicted the Legislative branch would dominate due to it’s power in making laws and regulating taxes/spending, the executive powers have proven to be superior and ever broadening. From the birth of the Republic, the President has sought to protect his rights and seek beyond his restriction of power. Setting the precedent as early as 1795, George Washington refused to relay documents relating to the Jay Treaty to the House of Representatives and saw his actions as a justified act of “executive prerogative.” Moreover, weaving throughout the Nineteenth century, presidents such as Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln conceived and added functions, such as the extensive use of the veto and the president’s direct and active role as Commander in Chief to their executive tool-belt. The Constitution communicates very little details regarding the President’s use of the power of veto and the role as Commander in Chief, but it was these presidents which established the major authority of the executive branch in these areas.
Though the bureaucracy began simply, with George Washington’s creation of the Department of Foreign Affairs, over the last 226 years, its size and power have increased exponentially. From homeland security to the delivery of mail, this “fourth branch of government” possesses a wide scope of responsibilities. However, the necessity for such a structure often comes into question. According to Max Weber, who believed that “the bureaucracy was likely to acquire an ‘overpowering’ power position, the bureaucracy is an “inevitable consequence” of modern day life (“The Rise of the Bureaucratic State”, Wilson). A specialized bureaucracy provides valuable expertise, an asset which the Founders did not take for granted, as they had suffered a committee
Woodrow Wilson’s purpose in writing “The Study of Administration” is to bring awareness that the government systems in place need to be re-evaluated and improved. Wilson encourages we need to examine the history of administration set forth by others in determining certain needs to be accomplished in effective ways and methods. Wilson’s desirable outcomes for research within the public administration field are for government systems to become more productive and organized.
Julia E. Johnsen, Cabinet Form of Government (New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1926), 55.
Public administration as a field of study and as a practice has continually evolved with American society. The United States has survived and thrived through major cultural shifts, varying degrees of economic climates, and both civil and world wars. Through out all these changes in our country, one thing has always remained the same, the fact that we are an ever evolving and always changing nation. Theories and forms of practice of public administration have also evolved parallel with the history of the United States. There have been numerous events in American history have lead to changes in society and the practice of public administration has both led and followed in the adaptation process of such monumental changes.