Comparing president and Prime Minister

Question 1

What are some of the structural differences of power between the PM and President?

Answer 1

• do they sit in the legislature?
• extent of powers - Prime Minister holds only 4 of the President’s 11 powers including propose legislation and submit the budget
• President can pursue policy unilaterally e.g. executive agreements. Have some prerogative powers but strained in recent years
• PM will have much greater ease at passing policy
• royal assent v veto
• power to appoint judiciary v JAC
• 2 term limit v no term limit
• State of Union Address is a wish list v Queen’s speech is a to do list

Question 2

How does the President and Prime Minister vary in accountability to the legislature?

Answer 2

• PM’s party is usually the majority v divided government
• President continuity doesn’t rely on winning votes from Congress
• Sticks and carrots
• US has checks and balances over the President v PMQs, select committees and votes of no confidence

Question 3

How do the cabinets vary?

Answer 3

• All power vested in the president v first among equals
• Not in the legislature v most are MPs
• PM can appoint whoever they want - there’s no need for approvals
• In the UK, cabinet members may be regarded as political rivals
• EXOP as rivals v shadow cabinet are main rivals
• collective responsibility v President has the final decision

Question 4

How do the two vary in terms of President / Prime Ministerial structure?

Answer 4

The President is of course Presidential with more power than the cabinet and their own Presidential race. However they can very from being imperial to imperilled and Clinton and Trump were both impeached

While elective dictatorship can occur in the UK, the structure of the UK system prevents them being presidential because there’s no separate election and the cabinet here is more important