All countries have permanent governments—but not all countries supervise them in the same ways, or to the same extent. After taking office, an American president installs more than three thousand political appointees. A British prime minister appoints only a few hundred. In the American federal government, presidential appointees often work at the top and, in some cases, throughout government agencies. In Britain, the prime minister appoints a member of Parliament to head each government ministry; virtually all of a ministry’s other positions are filled by permanent government employees. Two
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