Prime Minister of Tumbra
| Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Tumbra | |
|---|---|
 Seal of the Federal Republic of Tumbra | |
 Flag of the Federal Republic of Tumbra | |
 Incumbent since 16 May 2017Kenneth Everett | |
| Government of the Federal Republic of Tumbra Prime Minister's Office Cabinet Office | |
| Style | Prime Minister (informal) The Right Honourable (Tumbra) His Excellency (international) |
| Status | Head of Government |
| Abbreviation | PM |
| Member of | Cabinet |
| Reports to | House of Representatives |
| Residence | Federal Prime Ministerial Offices (official residence) Wright House (country house) |
| Nominator | Political parties |
| Appointer | President of the Federal Republic of Tumbra The President appoints the nominee which is able to get the most votes in the Prime Ministerial election following the first seating of Parliament. |
| Term length | No term limit While commanding the confidence of the majority of the House of Representatives. |
| Constituting instrument | Constitution of Tumbra |
| Precursor | State Counsellor of the Empire of Tumbra |
| Inaugural holder | Richard Barker |
| Formation | 1864 |
| Deputy | Deputy Prime Minister of Tumbra |
| Salary | $200,000/year |
The Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Tumbra is the head of government of the Federal Republic of Tumbra. The Prime Minister directs both the executive and legislative branches of the Tumbran government, and together with their Cabinet is accountable to the House of Representatives, their party and the electorate, for the government's policies and actions.
The post of Prime Minister was inaugurated by the Constitution of Tumbra, specifically Section VII, which deals with the Federal government. They are, constitutionally, responsible for the "day-to-day running conduct and policy of the State", as directed in Clause 149. To achieve this, the Prime Minister is able to appoint Cabinet Ministers to lead new Ministries (clauses 178 and 179), but there is a limit on how many full Ministers he may nominate (as per clause 179b, the current limit is 25), giving them a total of 26 Ministers (including the PM themself) in Cabinet. To date, the limit has never been reached and the current number of full Ministers is 23. By convention, one of those members is the Deputy Prime Minister, though the office has never been codified in the Constitution.
By virtue of his office, the Prime Minister also serves as the Minister for the Civil Service.
Some observers, therefore, given the Prime Minister's wide-ranging powers, tend to refer to the office of Prime Minister as a "democracy by Premiership", rather than, in as most other parliamentary governments, the primus inter pares of Cabinet. The power of the Prime Minister is afforded to them by the Constitution, and their status as the leader of the party or coalition holding at least a plurality of seats in the House of Representatives, the lower house of the Federal Parliament.
History of the office
The office of Prime Minister was envisioned originally to function as more of a "domestic affairs coordinator", working in tandem with the President, who would have jurisdiction over defence and foreign affairs, in a semi-presidential system. Yet, as President Gordon Hamilton was away in the war, and as he refused to allow his Vice President Ralph Davidson to have sway over said affairs, it fell to the first Prime Minister - Richard Barker of the Federalist Party - to juggle the responsibilities of the premiership.
The change to a fully parliamentary system with the Prime Minister in charge of all government affairs was formalised in 1877. In that sense, Walter Robinson was the first proper Prime Minister of the Federal Republic, but he acted as more of a primus inter pares than most of his successors, and all policy decisions made by his Cabinet were done so collectively.
Most principles, however, of the modern Premiership can be dated back to Leonard Everett's first premiership of 1882. While he did consult his Cabinet colleagues when it came to executive decisions, the final decision was almost exclusively made by him, a principle that has existed to this day and was utilised extensively by Malcolm Haywood throughout his sixteen-year Premiership.
Term of office
There are no term limits on the Prime Minister's term, save for the election for Prime Minister at the start of every newly convened Parliament; meaning that once appointed and sworn in by the President, the prime minister remains in office until they resign, are dismissed by the President, die, or their successor is elected. To date, only the first and last circumstances have occurred. In practice, under the system of responsible government, the prime minister (by convention) resigns should they lose the confidence of the elected House of Representatives. This can happen if the government loses an important vote, such as on the budget (loss of supply). The PM may also be unseated on a motion of no confidence, though constitutionally these motions must be constructive, requiring Parliament to present an alternative candidate for Prime Minister.
The longest serving Prime Minister was Malcolm Haywood, who served for 16 years and 24 days from 1963 to 1979; the shortest-serving Prime Minister was Peter Carten, who served for 245 days in 1957.
Role
Today, the Prime Minister's authority emanates from the Constitution, and from their status as the leader of the party holding a majority of seats in the House of Representatives. Clause 176 largely is seen as the principle that guides the Prime Minister's functions, with the sub-clauses guiding the Prime Minister. These sub-clauses are:
- The "responsibility clause" - Clause 176a dictates that the Prime Minister shall be "responsible for and determine the general guidelines of policy." This gives the Prime Minister the legal right to formally introduce policy guidelines that ministers must implement.
- The "independence clause" - Clause 176ai dictates that each Minister has the freedom to run their own departments and prepare their own legislative proposals, so long as they are consistent the Prime Minister's policies;
- and the "cabinet solidarity clause" - Clause 176b enshrines the concept of cabinet solidarity, and ensures that the entire Cabinet settles its disputes within itself.
Clause 177 mandates that the Prime Minister "shall, from time to time, report on the State of the Republic to a Joint Session of Parliament." This has taken the form of the Prime Ministerial Agenda, which they give at the start of every session of Parliament, which occurs every year in July, unless there has been a general election that year. If there has been a general election that year, the first session of the newly elected Parliament is dedicated to electing a new Speaker and a new Prime Minister. The Agenda is then typically given two or three weeks after the election of the Prime Minister.
The typical content of an Agenda contains the state of the country, as mandated by the Constitution, and then the laws that the government intends to pass in the following year. In the weeks following the Agenda, it is typically debated by Parliament in its response to the Prime Minister. Typically, the failure to carry an Agenda is a huge embarrassment for the Prime Minister, but it is not as serious as failing a vote of no confidence.
Clause 181 empowers the Prime Minister to advise the Prime Minister to dissolve Parliament and hold fresh elections for the House of Representatives. Typically, this is only done when the House votes to dissolve itself (as it did in 1980), for a snap election (as Peter Roscoe did in 2001), or if the House is unable to nominate a candidate for Prime Minister even after the absolute majority requirement for the Premiership is lifted. The last circumstance has never occurred.
Typically, the President allows these dissolutions, but they may be less willing to allow snap elections; most notably, when Peter Roscoe first took office in 2000 following a constructive vote of no confidence, he attempted to immediately call for a general election, but was rebuffed by then-President Hazel Moore on the grounds that he had the numbers to become Prime Minister; therefore no election was needed. The incident coloured Moore's last year of her Presidency - she eventually granted a dissolution in 2001 - and was widely seen as the reason why Stephen Trew triumphed over Vice President Desmond Lewis in 2002's presidential election.
The Prime Minister also has great influence over nominations to political posts that require Senate confirmation. However, the Prime Minister does not influence the President's pick for the twenty-five Governors (who serve as representatives of the President, and are effectively their surrogate) of the states.
Election mechanism
The election of a Prime Minister is typically the second order of business in a new seating of Parliament, after the election of the Speaker. The procedure for the election of a Prime Minister is outlined in Article 167 of the Constitution, where a candidate - which by convention is the leader of the largest party or coalition, unless the Prime Minister is the incumbent and wishes to be re-nominated - is nominated by the most senior member of that member's party, and his name put up to the Speaker. The Speaker then puts the candidate to a vote; should the Prime Ministerial candidate garner a majority of the total votes cast (including abstentions) then that person is said to be elected as Prime Minister and is subsequently sworn in by the President in front of the whole House of Representatives. The House is then adjourned, following some remarks by the Prime Minister.
Should nobody be able to get an absolute majority of votes, following the third election for Prime Minister, the criteria changes to exclude abstentions - meaning the prospective Prime Minister just needs to secure more "yes" votes than "no" votes to take office.
Should the Speaker deem there be no prospect of any Prime Ministerial candidate being selected, the Speaker shall recommend to the Prime Minister (in a caretaker capacity) to seek a dissolution of the House, on the grounds that there "is no possible government formed". To date since the founding of the Republic, no such election has occurred because of this.
This electoral procedure also applies should the House fail to pass any government budget; at which time the office of Prime Minister is immediately declared vacant, with the incumbent serving in a caretaker capacity until they are either re-elected or a new Prime Minister is selected. Should a new Prime Minister be selected, the swearing-in of the new Prime Minister will take place typically the next day, in a ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Straton.
Additionally, should the post of Prime Minister fall vacant due to resignation, death or otherwise, new elections will be held in accordance to this procedure.
Votes of No Confidence
According to Clause 168 of the Constitution, votes of no confidence must be constructive - i.e. they must present an alternate candidate for Prime Minister and secure an absolute majority of those voting in the subsequent election for Prime Minister. Unlike the election for Prime Minister, such a vote pits the incumbent Prime Minister directly against their challenger. Should the challenger win, the Prime Minister is obligated to resign and advise the President to swear in the winner of the vote of no confidence.
To date, only one vote of no confidence has been carried, in 2000 - when Peter Roscoe won 267 votes to the incumbent Edward North's 233 votes.
Privileges
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The Prime Minister is afforded two official residences; the Federal Prime Ministerial Offices in Straton, which were built in 1997, and Wright House on the outskirts of Serrapince, Bechor. Before 1997, the Straton residence of the Prime Minister was located at 36 Hampton Drive. That location has since been gazetted as a historical monument; plans are underway to either refurbish the house and make it available to the Prime Minister again, or open it up to the public as a museum. Former Prime Minister Darren Hayes remarked in 2015 that "[the Prime Minister] living where [they] work makes it such that [they] are unable to escape the job...it would be nice to re-open the house so that [they] can have a place to stay after finishing work, instead of retreating upstairs." Current Prime Minister Kenneth Everett has made no public statements on the status of the house; he has reportedly been unhappy with staying at the Prime Ministerial offices.
The Prime Minister is also allowed the use of an armoured car, and shared use of two official aircraft with the President and Vice President. The Federal Police also provides constant security for the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister is also allowed the usage of the prefix "the Right Honourable", and should they die, they are afforded a state funeral, with their casket lying in state in the Main Wing of the Federal Parliament building.