Conservative Cameron takes over as British PM

Conservative leader David Cameron took over as British Prime Minister on Tuesday after securing a power-sharing agreement between his centre-right party and the smaller Liberal Democrats.The Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, who was thrust into the position of kingmaker after last Thursday's (May 6) inconclusive election, was appointed deputy prime minister hours later. The Conservatives won most seats in a parliamentary election last week but fell short of a majority. Labour came second and the Liberal Democrats a distant third. Gordon Brown had resigned as Prime Minister earlier after his centre-left Labour Party's own attempt to clinch a deal with the Lib Dems failed. Labour had been in office for 13 years, first under Tony Blair and then Brown. Brown left Downing Street for Buckingham Palace where Queen Elizabeth accepted his resignation. Shortly afterwards, it was Cameron's turn to visit the queen, who formally asked him to form a government in her name. He went straight from the palace to Downing Street to deliver his speech. Giving his first speech as Prime Minister, Cameron, 43, said he aimed to form Britain's first coalition government since 1945. It faces the immediate challenge of a huge budget deficit which financial markets are anxious to see tackled. This is going to be hard and difficult work. A coalition will throw up all sorts of challenges. But I believe together we can provide that strong and stable government that our country needs, Cameron said. Cameron is the youngest Prime Minister in almost 200 years. The exact shape of the new government was not yet clear and Liberal Democrat legislators were meeting late on Tuesday to give their final approval to the deal on offer from the Conservatives. The Prime Minister's office announced late in the evening there would be five Liberal Democrats in cabinet in total, including Clegg. First among the new government's challenges will be how to reduce Britain's record budget deficit, which is running at more than 11 percent of national output and has raised fears that the country could lose its triple-A credit rating. US President Barack Obama called Cameron to congratulate him, the White House said. Cameron also received congratulations from German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.