Unlike American presidents, British prime ministers are not limited to two terms. If they keep winning elections, they get to pick when to step down. That means they can avoid the fate of every "lame duck" inhabitant of the White House, his authority gradually waning as his remaining time ticks away. Most electorally successful prime ministers hang on until their parties ditch them or their health fails. So Westminster was aghast when, on March 24th, David Cameron let slip in an interview with the bbc that, if he wins a second term at the election on May 7th, he would not seek a third one five years later. Prime ministerial terms, he added, are "like Shredded Wheat: two are wonderful but three might just be too many." Yet Mr Cameron's announcement was much less relevant to his role as prime minister than to his other job as leader of the Tory Party.
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