The role of the Prime Minister has presidential-style prominence but far less capacity to deliver constructive policies

Mark Garnett argues that much of the controversy over the position of Prime Minister arises from a confusion between the occupant’s inescapable political prominence and their often limited ability to achieve positive policy outcomes. The nature of the job may have therefore become a deterrent for politicians who are motivated by a desire to serve the public, and opened the way for those with much less laudable motivations.