15 Minutes of Power

Aside for the secretaries of state, those lofty roles at the Home Office, MOD, Exchequer, and Foreign office, the ministers of the UK are a cast of roles that expand, and contract based on the whims and political needs of the Prime Minister. Within their portfolios those MPs and Lords are immensely powerful - able to reshape whole sectors of British society, grant or refuse government contracts and planning permission, and intervene in matters throughout the country.

And yet, few members of the British Public could name every single minister and fewer still could say the extent of each minister's responsibilities. We like to imagine that they are competent, prepared, and entirely in control, and we hold them to standards as though they are. But they are often none of those things.

These men and women serve at the pleasure of the Prime Minister. Any misstep or scandal can invite media attention, public outcry, and their swift departure. At the same time, their resignations can shatter political alliances and bring down Prime Ministers and even governments. Their positions are, therefore, both immensely powerful and precarious. In Fifteen Minutes of Power, Peter Riddell draws on interviews with former ministers, conducted on behalf of the Institute of Government, to reveal the fraught existence of these powerful men and women.

In afara de secretarii de stat, acele roluri inalte de la Home Office, MOD, Exchequer si Foreign Office, ministrii din Marea Britanie sunt o serie de roluri care se extind si se contracteaza pe baza capriciilor si nevoilor politice ale primului ministru. In cadrul portofoliilor lor, acesti parlamentari si lorduri sunt extrem de puternici - capabili sa remodeleze sectoare intregi ale societatii britanice, sa acorde sau sa refuze contracte guvernamentale si permisiuni de construire si sa intervina in chestiuni din intreaga tara. Si totusi, putini membri ai publicului britanic ar putea numi fiecare ministrul si mai putini inca ar putea spune amploarea responsabilitatilor fiecarui ministru.