Tony Blair and John Howard: Comparative Predominance and ‘Institution Stretch’ in the UK and Australia

Abstract

1It has recently been argued that the UK premier enjoys a level of executive power unavailable to US presidents, but how does he or she compare to another prime minister operating within a broadly similar system? Commonalities of intra-executive influence and capacity exist under the premierships in the UK and Australia. Discrete institutional constraints and deviations are evident, but trends and similarities in resource capacity can be clearly identified. These include: the growth of the leaders' office, broadening and centralising of policy advice and media operations, strengthening of the role and function of ministerial advisers. I contend that this amounts to 'institution stretch', with new structures, processes and practices becoming embedded in the political system by the incumbents. This article concentrates on the (formal) institutional and structural resources available to the prime minister and provides a timely comparative analysis of capacity within the Blair and Howard administrations, encompassing their ten years in office. The experience of these two prime ministers demonstrates that while 'institutional stretch' has occurred, these agents remain contingent on other (personal) factors to maintain predominance.

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