Is Tony Blair More Like a President Than a Prime Minister

In order to assess whether Tony Blair’s leadership is more presidential than prime ministerial, one must first consider the significant differences between the presidential and Parliamentary regimes.

The Presidential system of government is characterised by a constitutional separation of powers between the legislative (congress) and the executive (the Presidency). In Britain, however, the executive and legislative overlap. ‘In theory, the US President exercises all of the prerogatives of the executive, and the British Prime Minister is obliged to share executive competencies. The US President (following advice from his staff and Cabinet) makes legislative recommendations to Congress, whereas the British Prime Minister (following consultations within the executive and having reached some form of collective agreement) issues legislative instructions to Parliament.’1

The US constitution secures the Presidents position in office for a term of four years and they cannot be dismissed by congress (except through impeachment). However, ‘looser party discipline means the President cannot regularly command Congressional support for his policies since their party may be

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As part of their agenda the new government ‘introduced legislation to incorporate the European Convention of Human Rights into British law and to establish an elected authority and mayor for London. Conversely, the British constitution does not form a drawn up document, but rather it was once noted for its dependence upon conventions and unwritten understandings in the task of managing government. These strategies and the reactions they generate reveal a distinct rapport between the prime ministerial and presidential positions. ’13 One of the functions of the United States President is to uphold the constitution. Subsequently, modern Presidents require ‘the political skills both to maximise the available sources of power and to deploy influence as effectively as possible in support of their selected objectives. ‘The British constitution, therefore, had a tradition of stability based upon the intuitive capabilities of its participants to conform to the spirit of its understandings. The principle objective behind constitutionalism is to ensure that the demonstration of power remains in line with and is checked by specific legal requirements. By guiding the development of office, they unwittingly assisted in the progression of the American nation.

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Approximate Word count = 1971
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)

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