There are many factors that can give the prime minister power over cabinet colleagues.’ Analyse and evaluate this statement.
- Created by: lilya
- Created on: 30-12-20 15:13
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- ‘There are many factors that can give the prime minister power over cabinet colleagues.’ Analyse and evaluate this statement.
- Patronage: the ability to hire and fire/make appointments.
- :can promote loyal colleagues and supporters, making the cabinet more likely to support them
- controls the careers of ministers, which should ensure their loyalty
- balance of interests and ideas, to avoid alienating sections of the party
- Particular groups must be represented, such as females
- opponents in the cabinet, so they are bound by collective responsibility
- Cabinet management
- control how often and how long the cabinet meets for, and sets the agenda
- control appointments to cabinet committees and chair the most important ones
- number of cabinet meetings and their duration has declined with recent PMs
- PM is not successful, the cabinet will not support them
- Cabinet resignations, especially senior ones, can damage the authority of the PM
- Media access
- PMs are able to speak to and appeal to the public directly through TV and press appearances, giving them more exposure than cabinet colleagues
- media focuses on the PM’s personality and image, giving them a very high public profile compared to their colleagues
- PMs use the media to control the flow of information, through ‘spin doctors’- advisors who present information in a biased or one-sided way, so as to influence public opinion.
- Bad news stories can be blown out of proportion and turned into a crisis
- cabinet can use media to undermine PM, leak stories and break ministerial responsibility
- Patronage: the ability to hire and fire/make appointments.
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