Abstract
In most European countries, Prime ministers are the major figure of the political game. They have a wide interface, with the media (both at a national and international level), and with their population, even if they are never called the “head of states”. Many political scientists have asserted in recent years that the position has been turning into a ‘presidential' type of power. The term presidentialization itself is defined very differently in political literature. It can be seen as a “personalised leadership style”, or as the concentration of powers . Two main aspects have to be taken into account to define a presidential type of power: intra electoral components, such as the role of the Prime minister within his government and his relations toward the Parliament, or his international image; and electoral rules. To determine the causes of this phenomenon and its limits, I have chosen three countries: The United Kingdom, Italy and France.
