Prime Ministers in Power: Political Leadership in Britain and Australia [Paperback]

A study of prime ministerial leadership in Britain and Australia. Tony Blair and John Howard were election winning leaders in two similar countries. They succeeded in dominating politics for over 10 years, but both fell dramatically from office. This book asks how these prime ministers established such predominant positions.PART I Introduction: Comparing Prime Ministers PART II Cabinet as a Resource Prime Minster and Party Controlling and Strengthening the Centre PART III Prime Ministers: Personal Capacity Splendid Isolation: Personalisation and Autonomy PART IV Comparative Perspectives and Conclusions Notes References

'Mark Bennister's book will be essential reading for all students of prime ministerial power and executive governance. He moves the debate onto new territory, using a comparative approach (looking at Tony Blair in Britain and John Howard in Australia) and integrating analysis of institutional and party factors, personal skills and leadership styles. Bennister is a careful, systematic and forensic analyst. The book offers many insights into Blair and Howard's long years of predominance but works successfully also as a primer on how to go about making sense in general of Prime Ministers as political leaders.' - Kevin Theakston, Professor of British Government, University of Leeds, UK

'This book makes a significant new contribution to our understanding of comparative political leadership. Through an exhaustive and clear analysis of the personal and political resources at their disposal, it reveals how two very different individuals working in distinctive political settings former British prime minister Tony Blair and the ex-premier of Australia, John Howard each found ways of stretching their power through personalized electoral appeals, although each was ultimately constrained by party colleagues. Mark Bennister has produced a valuable new study that deserves the attention of all serious students and scholars of political leadel¸