The Prime Minister is the executive head of the country. With reference to the Prime Minister and his Cabinet, answer the following question:
The Prime Minister is central to the life of the Cabinet. Justify this statement by mentioning any four powers of the Prime Minister with reference to the Cabinet.
Topic: Powers of the Prime Minister
Answer
(1) He FORMS the Cabinet — he selects the ministers and recommends their names to the President, so no one can become a minister without his approval. (2) He ALLOCATES portfolios among the ministers and may reshuffle them at any time, moving a minister from one department to another. (3) He PRESIDES over the meetings of the Cabinet, fixes its agenda, guides its discussions and sums up its decisions; he co-ordinates the work of the different departments. (4) He can DISMISS the ministry — he may ask any minister to resign, and if he himself resigns the whole Council of Ministers falls with him, since there can be no Cabinet without a Prime Minister.
Four marks, four powers, one mark each. The verbs make the structure clear — forms, allocates, presides, dismisses. The question says "justify", so the fourth point is the strongest: the Cabinet is not merely led by him but DEPENDS on him, since his resignation dissolves the whole ministry. Quotable descriptions worth using: the Prime Minister is "the keystone of the Cabinet arch" and "primus inter pares" — first among equals.