GuardianUnlimited
by Bruce Ackerman
Dealing with the worst
Britain is losing Blair, but America is stuck with Bush – and that’s because the British system is much better at getting rid of a discredited chief executive.
Tony Blair and George Bush are both discredited, but only the British system has managed to arrange a not-so-graceful exit. While Blair makes way reluctantly for Gordon Brown, Bush will be contemptuous of public opinion for 18 more months.
This contrast challenges conventional wisdom. British prime ministers are supposed to be powerhouses while American presidents are weakened by the constant pressure of checks and balances. This bit of Anglo-American lore contains a grain of truth during normal times, but it is completely false during the worst of times, when a leader suffers a collapse of popular support.
Then, the British rely on the ultimate check: each party’s instinct for self-preservation. When faced with the grim prospect of electoral defeat, the ruling party ruthlessly turns on its leader and forces him out – with the mighty Blair following the mighty Thatcher to the exit, while the mighty Bush thrashes about defending his repudiated policies and henchmen to the bitter end.
If America had a parliamentary system, Bush would have been shown the door by congressional Republicans, probably before the 2006 election. But nothing similar can happen in today’s Washington. Bush has bought himself impeachment insurance in choosing Dick Cheney as his vice president.