El Primer Ministro

Homework Assignment 2: The Prime Minister’s Questions
The Prime Minister’s Questions provides with an interesting example of how politics work in the United Kingdom. The PM’s Questions occur once aweek, and it basically consists of members of the House of Commons questioning the Prime Minister about new resolutions or motions. The setting of this event is extremely casual. People laugh, shout,and exclaim to whatever one of the speakers is saying. Speakers make personal jabs at each other and jokes are constantly being made: “This is the first time a Liberal leader has been in thisposition since the 1920s. Given the right hon. Gentleman's great longevity in politics that was probably around the time he first joined a Labour shadow Cabinet”. Participants discuss a wide gamut ofissues pertaining to everything from the war in Iraq, budget cuts, and the improvement of homes for the elderly. The mood of this event is surprising to non-British viewers because the system is notfrequently used in other countries. The questions and answers are moderated by a main speaker who acts like a judge in a court; it is his or her goal to maintain order. The PM’s Questions appears to be ahighly effective system since it allows for government representatives to speak their minds and argue freely in a more relaxed environment. The mere fact that people can yell and boo serves as acatharsis of the tension usually felt during governmental meetings. What is more, the system is even more efficient because it is not restricted to politicians; because it is streamed through television andthe internet, the people of the United Kingdom are much more informed about what is happening in the government and what they can expect to happen in the near future. Thus, the freedom to access thiskind of information gives the people more power in the sense that they know what to look out for, they are included into the political process just by being able to hear the Prime Minister defend...