Political executives serve as the foundation of a political system. Theoretically, an executive can influence an economy and its political system to a great extent. This is because the executive being an indispensable branch of the government, has the responsibility of giving shape to and implementing the government policy. Andrew Heywood summarized the importance of the executives in the following words:
"The executive is the irreducible branch of the government. Political systems...but they cannot survive without an executive branch to formulate government policy and ensure that it is implemented."
An executive is considered as an institution of immense importance. It is responsible for structuring and directing the government policy. It also makes sure that the policies are implemented and plays an integral role in shaping political opinions and views that constitute political socialization within a society.
The great power exercised by the executives theoretically, gets altered in real world politics. Practically, the power of the executive itself is to some extent influenced by other entities such as the civil servants, the political parties, interest groups, elites, etc. In addition to making decisions, supervising them, and making sure that they are enforced, an executive has to make sure that the government policy it is directing is meeting the needs and preferences of the general public and to some extent the preferences of the elites as well as that of the minorities since it plays an important role in political socialization.
An executive's unlimited power does not clearly suggest that it is 'the face of politics' and that in practical terms too, the same degree of boundless power is exercised by the executives or they encompass the same scope of responsibilities. There are several entities influencing and disrupting an executive's actions.
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