Cabinet of Blazdonia
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| Jurisdiction | Government of Blazdonia |
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The Cabinet of Blazdonia, also known as the Federal Cabinet, is the chief decision-making body of the executive branch of the government of the Kingdom of Blazdonia. It is a council of senior government ministers who are ultimately responsible to the Federal Parliament.
Composition
The Cabinet is composed of ministers who are appointed by the Governor-General of Blazdonia on the advice of the Prime Minister of Blazdonia, who is the leader of the Cabinet. Cabinet meetings are private and occur on a weekly basis, where vital issues are discussed and policy is formulated. In addition to the Cabinet, there is also an outer ministry and a number of assistant ministers (designated as parliamentary secretaries under the Ministers of State Act), who are responsible for specific policy areas and report directly to a senior Cabinet minister in their portfolio. The Cabinet, the outer ministry, and the assistant ministers together form the full Commonwealth ministry of the government.
Role
While the Cabinet is an important administrative mechanism for assisting with the decision-making process of the executive government, it does not have legal authority in and of itself. Decisions of the Cabinet do not have legal force, but rather serve as a "foreshadowing" of the business of the Federal Executive Council, which is the highest formal governmental body in Blazdonia as established by the Constitution of Blazdonia. In practice, the Federal Executive Council endorses and gives legal force to decisions already made by the Cabinet.
The Cabinet is responsible for managing and directing the government's policies and programs. Cabinet ministers are tasked with overseeing their respective portfolios and ensuring that their departments operate effectively and efficiently. The Cabinet is also responsible for setting the government's legislative agenda and introducing bills to the Federal Parliament.
Members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate are eligible to serve as ministers and parliamentary secretaries in the Cabinet. While the Prime Minister and Treasurer of Blazdonia are traditionally members of the House of Representatives, there is no constitutional requirement for this.
Principles
The Cabinet follows the principle of cabinet collective responsibility, which means that once a decision has been made by the Cabinet, all ministers must publicly support it, even if they disagree with it privately. The Cabinet is subject to the principle of cabinet solidarity, which requires ministers to speak with a united voice and to present a united front to the public. This principle is necessary to ensure that items of national security are not made public and to allow ministers to speak freely and disagree with each other during private discussions.