Cabinet of the Caldan Union

The Cabinet of the Caldan Union is a body of Ministers of the Crown that, in accordance with the Constitution and along with the Sovereign, forms the government of the Union. Legally speaking, the Cabinet is a committee of the Queen's Privy Council. At one time, it also constituted the senior level of the Ministry. However, ever since the second government of Minerva Karamanlis, the Cabinet and the Ministry have been co-terminal. The Cabinet is also often referred to as the Government, though this term might also be used to refer to all federal state institutions and Members of Parliament and Senators belonging to the political party forming the government are referred to as Government MPs or Government Senators. The term Administration is used largely synonymously but generally includes senior political advisers, though not the nonpartisan Civil Service. A given Cabinet is referred to by the name of the current Prime Minister. Hence, the current Cabinet, led by Prime Minister James Calvert, is referred to as the Calvert Cabinet, the Calvert Government, the Calvert Administration or the Calvert Ministry. While technically and historically distinct, the four terms are nearly identical in modern Caldan usage.

Composition

Queen-in-Council

The Government of the Caldan Union, referred to domestically as Her Majesty's Government, is constitutionally defined as the Queen acting on the advice of her Privy Council. This is what is known as the Queen-in-Council. The Privy Council consists of all current or former Cabinet ministers, current and former Leaders of the Opposition, current and former Speakers of the House of Representatives, current and former Presidents of the Senate, current and former justices of the Supreme Court, current and former provincial governors, current and former provincial premiers, current and former Chiefs of the Defence Staff, members of the royal family over the age of 21, current and former presidents of the College of Peers, current and former Lord Chamberlains of the Household, current and former leaders of sizable third parties, and current and former members of the Caldan Security and Intelligence Review Agency. Except for certainly largely ceremonial occasions, the entire Privy Council rarely meets. Instead, responsible government requires that the Queen receive constitutional advice from those ministers who currently enjoy the confidence of the House of Representatives. Thus, the Cabinet is the Committee of the Privy Council which actually advises the Queen.

It is the responsibility of the Queen to appoint a prime minister to lead the government, one capable of enjoying the confidence of the House of Representatives. Where a party or coalition holds a clear majority, this will always be their leader. However, when there is a hung parliament, with no sign of a coalition agreement, the Queen must exercise her judgment. The prime minister is the head of the Cabinet and may appoint its members from among current MPs and Senators, generally the leading members of the prime minister's party. The Queen also accepts the resignation of a departing prime minister and swears in all ministers.

Selection and structure

The Queen appoints to the Cabinet persons chosen by the prime minister. Every member of the Cabinet must either be a member of the House of Representatives or the Senate. Aside from that, the composition of the Cabinet is largely a political a decision, left to the prime minister and the internal politics of the governing party or coalition. Cabinets are typically designed to be representative. Efforts are made to ensure there is at least one minister from each province. Prime ministers also typically try to include racial and gender diversity in their Cabinet choices. A political party's internal factional politics must be addressed. A Cabinet normally includes the prime minister's most significant factional rivals. If it does not, this often leads to disunity in the government and the perpetual threat of a leadership challenge. Prime ministers also consider the appropriateness of a Cabinet portfolio for a particular minister, appointing ministers with a long-term policy interest in the portfolio or even pre-political professional qualifications. For example, the minister of health is almost always a medical doctor and the Attorney General is almost always a lawyer. A large majority of ministers are drawn from the House of Representatives. Typically, only a handful come from the Senate.

The size and structure of the Cabinet is not fixed. However, it tends to be relatively stable from government to government. The last major alignment occurred in 2007 under Minerva Karamanlis. For much of the 20th century, the Cabinet was expanding steadily in size. Under Sam Stevenson, the Cabinet reached its largest size to date with 50 ministers. His successor, Noel Cumberbatch, reduced the Cabinet to 36 and Vincenzo Lacau reduced it to a 20th century low of 23. Minerva Karamanlis raised it to 33 and it has not changed much since. The current Cabinet has 37 members.

The Cabinet is divided into committees. The Treasury Board, overseeing the expenditure of public monies, is one of the most powerful. Other committees focus on Economic Growth, Foreign Affairs, Atlantic Affairs, Security, Relations with the Former Provinces, and Environment. Under Amber Trinh, there was a Priorities and Planning Committee, known sometimes as the inner cabinet, which determined the overall direction of government. However, Oliver Welton abolished that committee and it has not been recreated.