Well, in UK the PM is the “first among equals”, in the US the president is the leader, the first. If the secretary of state does something wrong in the US, the president will be held responsible for that, while in Europe the minister of foreign affairs and the prime minister each have their own responsabilities. The PM is more of a coach than a real leader, exept for France that is.

In Britain, if a minister does something wrong then he/she is on their own; but if something goes right… show your appreciation for the prime minister, who obviously engineered the whole thing. – Nermal