Question

With reference to collective responsibility, consider the following statements:

1. collective responsibility is based on the principle of solidarity of the cabinet.
2. it implies that a vote of no confidence even against a single minister leads to the resignation of the entire council of ministers.
3. it indicates that if a minister does not agree with a policy or decision of the cabinet, he or she must either accept the decision or resign.
4. it is binding on all ministers to pursue or agree to a policy for which there is collective responsibility.

which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A. 3 only
B. 1 and 3 only
C. 2 only
D. 1 and 2 only

Answer 1

The correct answer is B. 1 and 3 only, as collective responsibility is based on the cabinet's solidarity and requires ministers to either accept decisions or resign, but does not always lead to resignations from a no-confidence vote against a single minister.

Step-by-step explanation:

The correct answer for the question about collective responsibility is B. 1 and 3 only. Statement 1 is correct as collective responsibility is indeed based on the principle of the solidarity of the cabinet, where all ministers are expected to present a united front and support the decisions made collectively. Statement 3 is also correct because if a minister disagrees with the cabinet's decision, they are faced with the choice of either accepting the decision or resigning from their position. This is in line with the concept of collective responsibility, which promotes unity and cooperation within a government.

Statement 2, however, does not accurately describe collective responsibility in most parliamentary systems. While collective responsibility does imply that the cabinet stands or falls together, a no-confidence vote is typically against the entire government or prime minister, not a single minister. As for Statement 4, it inadvertently asserts that all ministers must agree with the policies, which is not necessarily true; they have to support them in public, even if they disagree internally.