In each case the period of transition would be irrevocably governed by a man selected not for what he was to introduce, but what he was to change--for the policy he was to abandon, not for the policy he was to administer.
Bagehot reflects on the nature of political transitions and the importance of leadership in times of change.
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All savage religions are full of superstitions founded on luck.
But all men heed great results, and a change of Government is a great result.
And, to the effectual maintenance of such a separation, the exclusion of the President's Ministers from the legislature is essential.
That a House of Commons may work well it must perform, as we saw, five functions well: it must elect a Ministry well, legislate well, teach the nation well, express the nation's will well, bring matters to the nation's attention well.
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