In every human community the organization of power is the result of two opposed forces: beliefs on the one hand, practical necessities on the other. In consequence the leadership of political parties—like that of most present-day social groups: trade unions, associations, business firms, and so on—presents dual characteristics: it is democratic in appearance and oligarchic in reality.
Maurice Duverger, Political Parties, 1954
The Convention
It's six p.m. on Saturday, December 2, 2006, and Stéphane Dion has just been declared the new leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. Room 210/220A, the largest space in the sprawling Palais des congrès in Old Montreal, erupts in pandemonium as red and white clouds of Liberal confetti flutter down from the rafters and fireworks shower the stage with sparks, filling the air with the acrid, incongruous smell of gun-powder. I’m...
Paul Wilson is a writer and translator who lives in the Town of the Blue Mountains. His most recent translation is Mr. Kafka and Other Tales from the Time of the Cult, a collection of short stories by the Czech writer Bohumil Hrabal, published last year by New Directions.
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