West European Prime Ministers

West European Prime Ministers (1991) examines the roles played by the prime ministers of seven West European countries: Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Holland and Ireland. In addition three general chapters provide a comparative perspective. The main focus is on the power of the prime ministers. Their many and various resources, such as their formal authority, their political influence, their administrative support and their personal skills, and the constraints on their use of these powers, are all examined and analysed. The book also examines the people and organisations prime ministers have dealings with, from cabinets, ministers, parliaments and parties to the civil service, pressure groups and the public, and appraises how well other power centres are resources or supports for the prime minister. It explores the backgrounds and career patterns of prime ministers and the part they play in different policy areas. It assesses trends in prime-ministerial power over the last decade, and reveals the significance of the personality of the prime minister.

G.W. Jones was Professor of Government at the London School of Economics and Political Science. The author of several books on government, he was also a parliamentary candidate at the British General Election of 1964.