Lame duck (politics)

In politics, alame duckoroutgoing politicianis an elected official whose successor has already been elected or will be soon.An outgoing politician is often seen as having less influence with other politicians due to their limited time left in office. Conversely, a lame duck is free to make decisions that exercise the standard powers with little fear of consequence, such as issuingexecutive orders,pardons,or other controversial edicts. Lame duck politicians result fromterm limits,planned retirement, or electoral losses, and are especially noticeable where political systems build in a delay between the announcement of results and the taking of office by election winners. Even at the local level, politicians who do not seek re-election can lose credibility and influence. Uncompleted projects may fall to the wayside as their influence diminishes.

Description

The status can be due to:

• having lost a re-election bid
• choosing not to seek another term, which would start at the expiration of the current term
• aterm limitwhich prevents the official from running for that particular office again
• the abolition of the office, which must nonetheless be served out until the end of the official's term.

Since these politicians do not face the consequences of their actions in an upcoming election, they have greater freedom to issue unpopular decisions or appointments. Examples include last-minutemidnight regulationsissued by executive agencies of outgoing US presidential administrations andexecutive ordersissued by outgoing presidents.Such actions date back to theJudiciary Act of 1801( "Midnight Judges Act" ), in whichFederalistPresidentJohn Adamsand the outgoing6th Congressamended the Judiciary Act to create morefederal judgeseats for Adams to appoint and theSenateto confirm before theDemocratic-RepublicanThomas Jeffersonwasinauguratedand the Democratic-Republican majority7th Congressconvened.

In more recent history, US PresidentBill Clintonwas widely criticized for issuing140 pardonsand other acts of executive clemency on his last day in office, including two former close colleagues, donors, fellowDemocraticmembers, andhis own half-brother.

In many countries, toward the facilitation of a smooth transition, an outgoing president accepts advice from and consults with thepresident-elect.

Origins of the term

Literally, the term refers to a duck that is unable to keep up with the rest of its flock, making it a target for predators.

The first time the phrase is known to have been used in its metaphorical sense was in the 18th century; it was used at theLondon Stock Exchangeto refer to a stockbroker who defaulted on hisdebts.In 1761,Horace Walpolewrote, in a letter toSir Horace Mann:"Do you know what aBulland aBearand Lame Duck are? "And in 1791,Mary Berrywrote that theDuchess of Devonshire's loss of £50,000 in stocks was "the conversation of the town," and that her name was to be "posted up as a lame duck".

The first known use of the term to refer to politicians is in the January 14, 1863, issue of theCongressional Globe(which was at the time the official record of the proceedings of theUnited States Congress): "In no event... could [theCourt of Claims] be justly obnoxious to the charge of being a receptacle of 'lame ducks' or broken down politicians. "

Examples

Australia

In Australia, regardless of when the election is held, theSenate(upper house) sits from July 1 following the election to June 30 six years later,while the newly elected members of theHouse of Representatives(lower house) take their seats soon after an election. A Senate that is destined to lose its majority as a result of such a change is called alame-duck Senateand often attracts criticism if it blocks government measures introduced in the House of Representatives.

For example, after the2004 election,it became clear that the governingLiberal Party/National Partycoalitionwould gain a majority in the new Senate, which was due to sit the following July. In May, some months after the elections but before the new Senate came to power, the old Senate refused to pass new tax laws that had been passed by the House, which served to merely delay the passage of those laws until the new Senate assembled.

In the2010 Australian federal election,SenatorSteve Fieldingof the minor partyFamily Firstlost his seat and subsequently threatened to block supply if the Labor Party was successful in forming a minority government.

Canada

Unlike in some countries, there is no "lame duck" session of Parliament in Canada between the general election and swearing in of the new Parliament. In almost all cases, the outgoing prime minister or premier hands over power directly to their designated successor after a few weeks at most after a general election or shortly after aleadership election.

Usually, when the leader of a ruling party steps down, they also relinquish their caucus leadership role at around the same time, so there is no need for aninterim caucus leader.The power of outgoing Canadian parliamentarians is limited. Instead the departing prime minister or premier and cabinet ministers that were members of the now dissolved parliament will serve in an "acting" or "caretaker" capacity (i.e. not being able to make important appointments nor policy declarations) until the new parliament convenes; in one example whenSir Charles Tupperattempted to make appointments after losing the1896 Canadian electionthe Governor General refused to act on this.

A notable exception to the above is the transition betweenWilliam Lyon Mackenzie KingandLouis St. Laurent,making it perhaps the only lame duck example in Canadian federal politics. After resigning the leadership of theLiberals,King becameparliamentary leaderand continued asPrime Minister of Canadafor some months following the leadership election of his successor, St. Laurent, who became party leader but continued as a member of King'scabinetduring this time.

WhilePierre Trudeauretired from politics in 1984, he directly handed power over toJohn Turnerafter the leadership contest. However, Trudeau recommended thatGovernor GeneralJeanne Sauvéappoint over 200 Liberals to well-payingpatronagepositions, includingSenators,judges, and executives on various governmental andcrown corporationboards, widely seen as a way to offer "plum jobs" to loyal party members. These appointments generated a severe backlash across the spectrum.Turner had the right to recommend that the appointments be cancelled: advice that Sauvé would have been required to follow byconstitutional convention.However, he let them stand and made a further 70 appointments himself.Turner refused to produce a written agreement he had made with Trudeau before taking office, documenting a secret deal that saw Trudeau step down early. This is seen by many as Trudeau attempting to exercise some lame duck influence before resigning as Prime Minister.

Netherlands

Following the collapse of a cabinet, the concurrent prime minister will usually stay as the leader of thecaretaker government,until the beginning of the next term. After a potential election loss, it is custom to resign as the party leader, but remain thelame duckprime minister of the caretaker cabinet until the next cabinet is inaugurated.

As of July 2023, prime ministerMark Rutteannounced his resignation and retirement from politics following the collapse of hisfourth cabinet.He remained as caretaker prime minister until after thegovernment formationfollowing theNovember 2023 general electionand the appointment of theSchoof cabinet.

New Zealand

In 1984, aconstitutional crisisarose when the outgoing "lame duck" Prime MinisterRobert Muldoonrefused to follow the wishes of a new incoming government led byDavid Lange.This was the only time in New Zealand where a "lame duck" Prime Minister did not follow the wishes of the incoming government.

United Kingdom

Unlike countries such as the United States that instrinsically build in a transition period between elections and the taking of office of the elected executive, and even unlike some parliamentary systems, there is an incredibly short transition period (on the order of shorter than a day) between when the identity of the prime minister-designate is known, and their taking of office.

Followinggeneral electionswhere a party wins a clear majority in theHouse of Commons,the identity of the new prime minister is immediately apparent and they are usually appointed the following morning, minutes after their predecessor resigns the office, at back-to-back meetings with the monarch. In the case of ahung parliamentwhere the election is followed by negotiations to form a coalition, or an attempt by the leader of the largest party to lead aminority government,a new prime minister may not be appointed for a few days. In the2010 electionfor example, which was held on May 6,Gordon Brown's Labour Party lost its majority in the Commons, but Brown remained caretaker prime minister until May 11, resigning when it became clear that the Conservative Party (which held a plurality) had reached acoalition agreementwith the Liberal Democrats, whereupon the Conservative leaderDavid Cameronwas appointed prime minister.

Members of parliament cease to be such when parliament isdissolvedfor a general election, and cannot describe themselves as "John Smith MP" during the election campaign. Government ministers however, as part of the executive, continue to hold office unless and until new ministers are appointed after the election.

An example of an extended transition period in the informal sense is the last two years of the premiership ofTony Blair,who before the2005 United Kingdom general electionannounced that he would not serve another full term before standing down. However, the fact that Blair'sLabour Partywas returned with a substantially reduced majority and that Gordon Brown (who was correctly believed to be Blair's successor) had played a leading part in the election campaign, aroused considerable speculation about Blair's future as party leader and prime minister.

United States

The lame ducks depicted in thisClifford K. Berrymancartoon are defeated Democrats heading to theWhite Househoping to secure political appointments from then PresidentWoodrow Wilson.

In U.S. politics, the period between (presidential and congressional) elections in November and the inauguration of officials early in the following year is commonly called the "lame-duck period". A president is a lame duck after a successor has been elected, during which time the outgoing president and president-elect usually embark on atransition of power.

Until 1933, inaugurations occurred on March 4. Congress usually had two sessions, the second of which was usually held from the December after the election of the next Congress until March. This session was commonly called the "lame-duck session".Criticism of this process led to the passage of theTwentieth Amendmentin 1933, which moved the beginning of the new Congress to January 3 and the inauguration of the president to January 20, thus shortening the lame duck period.

A president elected to a second term is sometimes seen as a lame duck from early in the second term, since term limits prevent them from contesting re-election four years later. However, not personally having to face the electorate again makes a second-term president more powerful than they were in their first term as they are thus freer to take politically unpopular actions. However, this comes with caveats; as the de facto leader of their political party, the president's actions affect how the party performs in themidterm electionstwo years into the second term, and, to some extent, the success of that party's nominee in the next presidential election four years in the future. For these reasons, it can be argued that a president in their second term is not a lame duck at all.

In his farewell speech from the office of president in January 2017,Barack Obamajokingly quipped, "You can tell that I'm a lame duck because nobody's following instructions" when the cheering and applause from the crowd prevented him from commencing his speech.Joe Biden,who ultimately chose not to seek re-election in favour of hisvice-presidentKamala Harris,was also referred to as a lame duck president after his announcement not to run for president a second time.

Vatican City

On February 11, 2013, when PopeBenedict XVIannounced that he was resigning within 17 days, he was called a "lame duck pope" by some media outlets.Also, due to PopeJohn Paul II's long and debilitating illness, some journalists (such asTime's Jeff Israely) described the final years of his reign as a lame duck papacy.

Venezuela

The discontent with the rulingUnited Socialist Party of Venezuelasaw the opposition being elected to hold the majority in theNational Assembly of Venezuelafor the first time since 1999 following the2015 parliamentary election.As a result of that election, the lame-duck National Assembly consisting of United Socialist officials filled theSupreme Tribunal(supreme court) with allies.Into early 2016, the Supreme Tribunal alleged that voting irregularities occurred in the parliamentary elections and stripped four Assembly members of their seats, preventing an oppositionsupermajorityin the National Assembly which would be able to challenge President Maduro.The Assembly nevertheless swore in the members in question, in response to which the Supreme Court ruled that the Assembly was in contempt of court and in violation of the constitutional order.The Supreme Tribunal then began to approve multiple actions performed by Maduro and granted him more powersand later stripped the National Assembly oflegislative powers,and took those powers for itself; which meant that the Supreme Tribunal might have been able to create laws, causing the2017 constitutional crisis.

Other

Sports

In sports usage, a coach or general manager in the final year of their contract without a forthcoming contract extension is often described as a lame duck.

Additionally, if ateam is on track to miss the playoffs,a coach or general manager can be regarded as a lame duck even if they are under a multiyear contract if they are expected to be fired shortly before or once the season ends.Often taking the blame as the team is out of contention for the postseason, the coach or/and general manager is seen as a poor fit or otherwise does not relate well with others – players and other coaches, the media, their superiors and so forth – and a change in leadership is apparently forthcoming or desired. Often, there will be rumors of a coach and/or manager departure – often by dismissal or forced resignation (also known as "by mutual consent" ) – with said rumors often beginning several games before the end of the season. Dismissal of the coach and/or manager once the team is eliminated from reaching the postseason, rather than waiting for the conclusion of the season, does cut short their "lame duck" status and clears the way for new hires. In that case, an interim coach and/or interim manager will be appointed to see out the remainder of the season, though their predecessors may still remain on the club payroll as a "special advisor" until their contracts expires.

Business

Especially in the United Kingdom, a "lame duck company" is one that is in such financial difficulty that it is not worth investing in, or is unworthy of government support.

Software engineering

In networked server systems, the term "lame duck mode" is used to describe a networked server in the process of shutting down (e.g., for a software update or relocating to a different physical machine). During lame duck mode, which can last from a few seconds to a few minutes, the server will finish serving existing clients and requests, and for some time will continue accepting new requests, while notifying clients not to contact them again for some time. If the server continues receiving new requests after this grace period, it might stop serving them and shut down anyway, depending on a desired outcome and configuration. Proper cooperation of client applications reduces service disruption and retry latency indistributed systems.There are many other possible variations of "lame duck mode", like serving existing connections, but not accepting any new connections.As such, lame duck mode is a method ofload balancing.

See also

• Caretaker government
• Provisional government
• Roi fainéant