All but one of the outgoing ministers have been kept on in their jobs, including Khodair in the finance portfolio.

"The government is leaving with a very good record with clean hands," said the outgoing foreign minister, Ana Palacio, in an interview.

"For example at No 10, the outgoing prime minister leaves behind a lot of people who know how the place works so that it can run smoothly."

He seemingly did not have the numbers, noting that he was "obviously very closely identified with the outgoing prime minister."

In almost all cases, the outgoing prime minister or premier hands over power directly to their designated successor after a leadership contest or general election.

All but Chrétien (during his 1984 leadership bid) were considered the front-runners to succeed the outgoing prime minister or party leader.

All four outgoing ministers had been accused of corruption and influence-peddling.

The Queen, without of course receiving any advice from the outgoing prime minister, sends for the leader of the successful party.

The constitution would create good jobs for outgoing prime ministers when they could no longer be elected.

For heads of state, the terms used are outgoing president and outgoing prime minister, among other ones.