The campaign platform

r fionr standing for elcction for a pcriod ofup to scvcn ycars.

The campaign trail [r rrc b:rrrcd frorr.r standing for rc-clcction.

c drrc to culminatc in a presidential poll on z7 Mry, has bccorne nrore a mattcr of
In a-dcmocracy, the iountryt rurers a,d
leru-make.s iic choscn
phvsical snrvival than political persuasion. _:
in elections. In American English, ."rala"t., ,l l:c rvill not run for rc-elt'ctiorr ncxt ycf,r.
and in tsritish English they stand
.rlr"for election
for election. c it rvas not as the Republican candidate.
The campaign is the series of ad.vertisements,
aPpearances, meetings and speeches
television campaign g f| f thc party in ollice has always gained support in the run-up to thc election.
designed to get support for
a candidate. The cxpression campaign g to avoid media coverage of the campaign trail. coverage 21I
t.*ril e*pirrise, thc
numDer ot places cand.idares. have to
go ro ,nd rhings they have
to go through while campargnrng.
Campaign also refers collectively to all
the parties,campaigns. The campaign platform
The run-up to an elecdon is the period
leadinq uD ro an A political party is a group ofpoliticians and thcir
election, perhaps a longer ti-e rhr., ,n.
.r-p"t#,*fe supporters who have similar views on horv the
back to tife arut stoodfor etection in the
eastern rnttian state of Bihar,
country should be run.
{ry::it2r";ii!:,came
A partyt platform is the policies that it says it will
MrsThatcher hoped most of them were put into effect ifelected. Individual policies are
ag.ainst aJederal Europe.,othenuise
standing as candidates in tie ne*t grnrri what\ the point of
electio,"r?, planks in the platform. Propoied policies may be
vo'go' Lto'o *hoinrtantly outlined in a document known as a manifesto. manifesto /86 U
glances backuards into hk own life or into the dark
rontinentJor hisfitt.ion, is p'rircupied
by,o*ahing
recesses of his
Speeches were traditionally made in Britain standing
who, in rggo, ranfor prcsident in'peru,'and
U)iri,n_, politits,. Coning from a man
losr, tn'i, ,r?*, hartl ro take. on a soapbox and in the lJnited States on the stump,
and these things are often referred to in connection
his opponenr He isfolowed on the campaisn with campaigning even if they are not now often
ffi"iT::1,:Ii:;:;i:',:;,:!:;!:,;;{':''o "f*e actually used. People who shout out their
There are weeks to go to the erection, yet we are heckle 79l
.ten arready mind-numbingry bored with disagreement when a politician makes a speech are .lJ.

campaigning. the
hecklers, and what they do is heckle. heckler 79l .lJ,

shots wete fired and exolosiues thrown Politicians on the stump or at or on the hustirrgs are
into the ofices oJtwo politital parties inTiblisi
BBC Mostow in what the
'o"",pondrn,
artuitn or'iir'i'rrl^ti^iir'i,arrt run-up to erections electioneering. Electioneering can be used neutrally
nexr month.
to talk about what candidates do during a campaign,
I on the campaign trail. Match the two parts
of these extracts.
but it can also be used to show disapproval of'unfair'
methods. In this case, electioneering may be
described as cynical or blatant.
t Thc Colonrbian election campaign.
z V/hrtcvcr the polirical arrd economic situarion. Tlrc King announced that he is ready to talk with the country\ political parties about politiul
3 It! been so long si,ce the last election that rve've forgottcn change.
how difiicurr it is
4 Thc tribunals would disqualify those found guilry T'he Democrats plan to capitalise on prblicJrustration by making healtlt one o.f thr main planks
i Senator Garn told a press conlerencc ar the (Jtah sratc caprtal in their platform.
that
6 Eleced for six years, Mexican presidents 'l-he
party's manifesio was soJull of generalisations that most Soutlt Ali-itans haue been amazed
hy the reforms the goretnfient has passed.
7 Whcn Lincoln ran for his sccond election,
The rousing speech, the last of six soapbox addresses, came at the end of rc,ooo miles on the
32 battlehus and tours to more thafi 6o constituenties.
33
 'Whistlestop tours
Y::3...'L*.'*::* and spin doctors

Do's Sarlor', Anqola'-s dotrrleadu, is anunconvindngconuert

to dertotraty. ()rt tltt stump rn Hc followed this up with an clcctioncering -- on Labour, claiming
Huatnbo, he lookcd untonfLttrd,lt.u,irlt th,.ror.r,oio.,
oJrlrrtiu,rrr,ring.' businessmen had no cnthusiasm lor a Labour governmcnt.
Wth only days to go beiore elertiotrs in Pakistan, candidates are battling - (i.t tlu:
it ort hrstittls.. Hc has alrcady been round thc country three timcs on thinly veiled clcctioneering
couernmentministershadant.ughridetluringthcirnationutidetour,heckledinsomr,
grecrcd u,itlt stony silcnre itt others. ltlaces,, Mr Reagant grcat achievcmcnt of his second term - tax relorm - was {irst aired as
an electioneering in his Statc ofthe Union spcech in 1984.
Belgtade teleuision uere euefi accused ofusing crude techniEtes
to superimpose entlr*siastit theers
ouer the sound oJhecklers at one oj Miloseuii\ campaign The prospect oian electioneering and a cut in intercst ratcs as an
mllies.
additional sweetener gave shares a welcome boost ycsterday.
Electioneering in Mandalay has been more enthusiastic,
with members
c Voters complain about electioneering that verge on the dishonest.
oJ the opposition parties
encouraging supporters to uote.
h What the Soviets at first took to be electioneering they discovered
Labour actused Mr King oJblarant,eleaioncelittg as he
placed the tutial orderJor shorr range air- to be theological conviction.'Evil empire' meant lihat it said.
to-air missiles. Labour de{enrc$iFesnan Morin
o'Neiil said,,ri wiii ,or*' olr"o iai4,o ,1,, ---.
workforce of those companies. whether it will come -
as a relief ti the conrryroriu, ,ortlidates in
those seats, it will remain to elertion day tof.nd
out., Whistlestop tours and spin doctors
A very fast campaigning trip, with a candidate making a lot of
2 Electioneering clich6s. Fjnd combinations in the speeches and appearances in a lot ofplaces in a short time, is a
tabte thar correspond to the definitions 1_g. Then use whistlestop tour.
the combinations to complete the extracts a_h.
A tour such this might consist, among other things, of:
as

I Trips that candidates go on rallies: large, often open-air, political events with speeches r:aliy 8 {}

2 Things that candidates say to get elected but that they and entertainment, and
dont reaily mean
Something that a candidate says they will do if elected
walkabouts: the candidate walks about in a crowd and
J
shakes hands, or in this political context, glad-hands glad-hand 8 fi
4 Unoriginal things that candidates say and do people.
5 An attack made by a candidate on others
Candidates must be careful not to make gaffes. Gaffes are gatle 216 |
6 Methods, honest and dishonest, that are used by candidates slips of the tongue or offensive remarks that damage their
to gain electoral
advantage image: the perception that people have of them.
A government's financial plan that is designed to win votes
7
Spin doctors or spin controllers are consultants who try to
8 Volence rhat is encouraged by candidates minimise the effects of gaffes, and otherwise improve the way
candidates are presented in the media generally.

clich6s
prornise thuggcry
a LATGUIGEIIoIE
.Whistlestop
tours electioneering is also spelt with a hyphen and as two words.
assault
tactics budget
4nd in the Abe Lincoln in lllinois', where the part was played by Raynond Massey - in
flm
rhctoric
onc of the when Abe Lintoln is leauing on a whistle-stop tour - you'll hear the ctoutd
scenes
s,tying: 'Coodbye, Mr Lincoln. Gootlbye, Mr Lincoln.'Anil you'll hear one lone roi(e sayin!
shavcn-headcd youths *,ho combine football violence '()oodbye, Mr Massey. Coodbye, Mr Massey.'
with electioneerrng
.lt political rallies across the state, opinions on Helms are anything btt afibiL'dlent. Unidentifed
o irr the book of clccriorrccrrrg _ short of krssrng qnup: six, eight, Jesse Helms isJuli o.f hate!
1"-1"'c'cryrhirrg 'Two, four,
tl2hres -.--
Mrs Robinson admits she is not a natural politician in the Irish sense : she la&s the g"ad-handing
:krlls so ualued in the small world of lrish politics.
34 35
Unit 2 Politics
...*..@
Seeking nomination

Mr_Major and his wilb Norna uterc .iostlcd by d crou,d oJ defiofistrators durirg a .whal
walkabout itr
Bolton. Polirr tricd ro hold rltttt ar I'dy as tlry shoutetl ,Torics out'and,co'iark to Londn,,',
'N9,'
lrg sa id. eve. *",..J"riig-6
h,,t television it's not glamour. Tetevisio", ;" ,i
the Premier stayed mlnt and kcpt sniling.
bcst a tcrrible temptation. U".uu."
5 If you can gct away with nrurdcr
I iukou get away wrth murder on it, by
vou-"rl in doing something, do pcople
is keeping a uery lou,proJilc dwjng the campaign. probdbly this is because his itnage has condcnsine carc what you do?
been badly dented by attarks in opposition newspapuq which haui dwett on hi, ,rrr*i#porr. your campaign into slogans. Aut
f eteuisioi
necon I be quite as Iazy or ignorant 6 Ifyou condense something, do you
caffe oJ the canrpaign: 'I don't want to run the risk of ruining what in
is a louely recessionJ He doing it.' makc it a) bigger, or b) smaller?
fieant to say reception. (Ceorgc Bush)
Still, the absence of a national dailv 7 Arelazy people energetic?
Thellisarray in the of cauazos and Bennett was the abrupt way the news broke
cases press cannot do other than
say before the spin-controllers courd set the stage, if I'm not miiing
- that is to enhance thl 8 If X enhances the importance of
metaphors here. rmportance of television in a presidential
A recent question to Mr Clinton and Al Core on a CBS teleuision phone-in campatgn. Y, does it increaseYt importance?
p-rogramme was prefaced with: ,_Cootl morning Couernor Clinton, Politicians themselves are critical
Sinator Core, our of the
Juture president and uice-president,, the sort if sound_bite that is a spin doctor,s they feel the potiticar agendi 9 The poiitical agenda consists of
dream come true.
sound-bite I^? ilX.li:h
nas snrlted out of their control the issues and problems that
inio rhe
lTl.-:t,
ooctors.
h. media manipul";;; ;;;.;i; politicians deal with. Do
politicians feel they are getting
3 Controlling the spin. Read this extract from Henry more control over it?
TheTimes and answer the questions. ^ was Kissinger,
slate
former Secretarv of
particularly unhappy: .fneiiJ IO Ifyou run a risk, is the risk a
we re runnlng in our campai ns is danger for you?
that

Bite-srzed
they've reached a stage *h;r."G;;;;
Decome part ofthe electoral process; they II The media have reached a
report ir, they become a parr of p _ _ _ t where they are part of
:i".I:,iq:i
camBargners rnc electoral process.' the electoral process.

'Negative advertising and negative-

caripaigning works,' Peter Jennings, ch.ief If something is anchorman 7
ABi anchoiman in NewYork. 'We all like beneath contempt, Seeking nominataon
to sav it doesn't work and it's really do you have a high
advertising 70

beneaih contempt, as it is in many cases' opinion ofit? In the United States, a partyt presidential candidate may be
But until American PeoPle either selected in a series of primary elections or primaries. Primary
individually or as a whole reject negative elections are held in some, but not all, states as a \ /ay offinding
advertising, I think that's the way it's going which candidate has most support. The final choice of
to go.' presidential candidate is made by delegates representing
The image of the candidate is so much each state at the party conventions, famous for convention 178 lJ
more imp6rtant in America than in Is the party system stronger
late-night bargaining, supposedly in smoke-filled
Britain, bicause the combination of the in the United States than in
rooms, between supporters ofeach candidate. The expression
greater size of the country and the.much Britain?
smoke-filled room is used to refer to mcetings where intense,
iess cohesive party system means that in 3 If you press someone secret negotiations take place, usually between members of the
the early stages of the campaign. many on a question, do you same group or party, to the exclusion ofoutsiders.
candidates are relatively unknown. care ifthey dont give Candidates looking for selection seek nomination as the
Ipressed the resPected American vou a clear answer? columnist /9 f| party's presidential candid ate.
columnist George Wrli on whether that
meant that television imPact now
4 Do telegenic people jue of the six
determined the choice cf candidates' Was It is that time agatry and that place too. On the frst weekend of Nouember,
look good on telegenic 7 uay, many of their kind haue
it a case ol the more telegenic they were, television?
declared candidates.for the Democratic nomination made their as so

the more chance theY had of success? done before, to New Hampshire. Itt pr;*ory will be held on February rclh; afid it is, as aluays,
/hc first in the nalion.
37
 Unit 2 Politics
*.*.--*w .-*----*---I!:ii*:i.:.'jg
l-he reJorm changed thc dde.gatts to tfu natioual party rLtnuentiLtn tuere selected. tsyJorring
delegates to declare their allegiancc and runJitrdution, thdt refofifi uas ifitended to rcpldrc the
The right candidate. The same word or expression from this section is
smoke-jlled roons and dral-making u'ith the iiltra-party pritnaries tlnt had until thett been Lnissin[from al1 these exrracts.What is it? In which extracts is the singular
ttrainly 'bcauty contests' of littlc nnseqt(n(t. form oT the missing itern used and in which the plural?

presidenlial bid An attcmpt to bccornc prcsidcnt is sometimes referred Labour party policy was determined by a fcrv
trade union bosses in . That ts now beginning ro changc
to as a bid for the presidency or a presidential bid.
bid.for the . The candidatc running for the vice-presidency is the The Conservative leadership was once decided in of London clubs by the partyt grandges.
P..e'ie_igl!I,, prcsidential candidatet running mate. An ideal
combination of candidates for these two posts is It took t5 hours in a but the outcome was never in doubt.
runnrng:imate l
known as the dream ticket. The expression is also
'. . irl.::rr - r. '
applied to other atrractive political partnerships in the Those attending the Maastricht summit will be
dram:iitkCi,:i:ii ..r::l
US and elsewhere. Ir is evcn sometimes used to sweating it out in the of Euro uniformity.
describe a single candidate with attractive qualities.
Dc:pite all thc talk of democratic reforms. Japan
His,llesllential bid has,attruded to this small city roughly j5o highly paid ir srill run bv what Americans used to call the
consufuants, strategists, politics of the of lapanere polirics, Shin Kanemaru,
. The sodfarher
aruL idealktic young uolunteers, fiot to mefltion trorrt il rrprntr-account journalists and thousands public to show 'understanding'of the
has be"gged the
oJ tourists.
way thiruling LDP is picking its new president.
Cary Hatt! bidJor the presidencyfailed after the euidence of his romantic link with Donna Rice.
The danger is that professionals in will impose an over-centralised European Union
If Hillary is the perfect partner,. then in Al core he had the perfect running mate. It really was which many Europeans may not want.
the dream titketfor womefl. wherc clinton is rugged and eirtiy, cire it iea" rut and pieppy.
On one side is the approach to political change, negotiated by
This new dawn is not to be confused with the last flew dawn, when Neir Kinnock and Roy
_

'profesionalil On the other is reform brought about

HattercIey uere described as a dream ticket.
by populai presurg.

The sleaze factor

Sometimes candidates or the media search for damaging
Remember
information about a politiciant personal life' or business or secret
the Sixties? politicai activities.When they do this they are said to.be digging
Our generation ior dirt or muckraking. Damaging information of this kind is
never trusted
anyone over30, sleaze. Ifthey then use this information to attack their opponents'
I know. thev are accused of mudslinging.
We wouldn't
have voted for \ Vrctims of muckraking say that their opponents
either of us
guilty of conductiig a smear .r-p"1g,t, ot
! ! smear campaign 24 1l
are
s moie forma1l1', a campaign of viliflcation against them'
o
If allegations or charges against someorlc canrlot Lrc allegation 2Sll' 138 ll
proved, or made to stick, that person is said to have a cnarge 140 lJ
U
I
Teflon coating. (Some saucepans havcTeflon coatings
to prevent food sticking to them)
C

O TAIIGUAGE lIOIE
a with a hyphcn and as rwo words
38 Muckraking and mudslinging are also spelt 39

L
 Unit 2 Politics
.*..e..3.i*& The sleazc factor

L0NGRESS^ AN- U{tlEN AgE you GotNG 'Wt u,ill rontinue to run a good, clean, hard-hitting umpaign. The prcsident is detennincd ttt kee-p
YoU PLE96ED To Do SoITIETRING
TO CLEAN UP CAAIPAI6N TINANCIMG?1 this ranpaign out oJ the sleazc businessisaid a spokesman with Mr Bush in Florida.
Due.lN6 TRE LASI ELEcTroN././
<- Rcagan uas the so-callerlTbjon Prcsident, whose impeccable image protected hint-from scandal and

,/ ;eb
ln
th arge s qt' nc omp
.i
e te

Ui1116o:..;{illll1..::t.;jl.*
nt e.

Politicians somctimes fail electorally bccause of allcgations of

ql 'I r' rrriJ'r:1-'ir'!!tj'':!::rrt:
extra-marital affairs. women involved in affairs such as these are
ften referred to as bimbos, implying that they are sexually
attractive but intellectually limited, even ifevidence oftheir
intellectual qualities, or lack ofthem, is rarely discussed.

The only top Republican aide with the common touch is Mary Matalin, the political director. But
1.Al\ JUST WAITIN6 FOz phen Ms Matalin raised BiIl Clinton\ problems uith'bimbos' ldst week, she was, to her disgust,
sol^g FINAL RetueHs' rebuleed and made to rctract by Mr Bush.

Digging for gold and digging for dirt. Read this

article from TfteTimes, written during Bill Clinton's
F
{ bid for the presidency, and answbr the questions.
I

3'

! Clinton hires tgugh

fe-ian to ride shotgunall Clinton'of Do Democrats think
11 preparatio.n
for.p.otentially thenastiest campaign yet, the Democrats hate The Democrats know that Mr
been
;.;*;l;;; ;o reflon coating' rheY all know allegations might be made
?##+y!!with ,whkh
to undermine-Mr Bush\ image. During his presiilency,
one 'rrl-i,iil-d.'"t."iled as the 'failed governor.ot a to stick to Clinton?
brother dfld one son haye beenfnedforjnancial irregularities. Aiothei 't,r,C be
two other sons haue been inuolued ii qiestionable
brother a,nd flne 149 $ ,rn"f f and as a man who cannot
bisiness deak.
trusted. The Republicans may be
ASHDOWN Republicans be sitting' on abouttor v
]ASEIURY WARNED ON MORALITy Jurors were warneil "t!i - the
Could more
yesterday

y#*-!::y:oaryis
not to
let their uiews.on the morality of politicians, priuate
liues or the
inlueyy rhem in'thi iase of the man accused oJ steatins the
iuror 146 lJ
lilife? ;i:'t:" :'-':3:f
'Not a true one, sal ffil 3$lLtl l'JX';
there.are.not
about Ciintont p-rivate iife.
IFyou dispel and discredit
document that disrlosed detail.e of paddy Ashrlown\
sexual relationship with hisJo'rner i"i..ri"*.'l am not at all sure lies, do most people go on
secretary. ii:,'; t;;h; o* there' butrnv l:9li^1:
'nutG
[LJ #;il"t"Eiitrt"* as fast as possible' I believing them?
The campaign has taken on a mud-slinging uiolence
,,:.f i,
that makes Mrs Ferraro\ ry64
r, e a n b y t o n pi i s o tt frii p p o ne nt s h au e s e i z, d o,
ilY"";;i;;i;-wnere I exPect anYthing''
: :: : :i : :l
ttnRs wtth rhc MaJta to undermine hcr.
h, r 7om ily;i ott eg e a
Lalt September, loathing*a the strain of Are people who indulge in
."ip.ig*l' .he accepted fellowship at skulduggery honest?
A parlianrcntary commission wds, set up to inuestigate
charges that carria personaily
u--',...1 Rv March. Mr Clinton faced
wrongdoing drart-dodging If someone is viciously
-:i;;i; .#g.' oi inna'titv'
embezzled $5o 95.1J
million. He has trenied any u,rongToing. rt puts a, auusations
and attacked, they are
t.oLa sf!:!:!!U!E!by his poL,itical opponents,
down
ino n, aoii, are utorTisj nay
embezlement 96.1| I:;'#;;;;i-.kulduggerv in Arkansas- Miss
(noose to staild againJor presidcnt
in thc ncxt elections in tqg5.
fup
il: #i;;:;i;;-li-k-J' niece ormeat'
to
t__1--4.
Wrieht alone knew rrrs record well enough
';iGlations' Ifyou relutean allegation,
Mr Markouic said he and his gouernmeflt were being subjected
to an intense meiria campaign ;;i;i;';; *r'E she did'. rle begged .h'.' 1o do you prove that it is
of lies and uilirtcation she. folnd,f--tttle
;:il;;,'""a i"po't"t'
il:i.il;;'tv "
fal se?
digging for dirt'
40
41
 Dirty tricks

^,
To co u.n r er r;lir.," iri,r,
by Mr"*JCrinro; ,rr" a--
7 If you offer cvidence tlrat a
Fritnds of Mandtl,t, while not disputin! the lettu's authenticity, acrused enemies within the ANC
l"""rji.j.y ol'wagilry a tlirty tricks'smear tampaign'against her.'Thcy are trying euerything they can to
"rpi"ii'a"r,
i.,:::ii^,^pilvare ..irrvesr tguro., "
sui
san
claim or allcgation is falsc,
tlrslroy hct,' one said.
trrancisio's.rr.["prttra:":ttgator. yous______it.
:1"j: .,n,
J ....r,#''s"j l..,; Jt.-:L Y;l 8 Ifan allegation is nor
So, in sone senytlhere k truth,in disint'ormation. That\ always what disinfomration's about.
campargn.
backcd up by cvidencc is ir ,4 Puerto Ricen Senate committec is inuestigating the killings and subsequent covet-up oJ tu'o
. Miss Wrighr and Mr tXl:I1: ,:ilr, spurious? indcpendeice actiuistsS"j years ago. NPNs Maria Martin reports on the case, whih is being
,.h1r -,,rr,perdue.
Sarry -;;;;; ,
Arkansas. Iormer Miss called the Watergate of Puerto Rito.
,:
A?::"* :l y
i 6 rT Ii, :.r,i.?T;,i [X.j
9 [f you dispute someone's The controuersy now being dubbetl Inkatha-gate took a new turn with the resignation of ChieJ
veracity, you accuse them Buthelezi's personal assistant, M. Z. Khumalo, who said he alone knew about the secwity police
iJg", ;,:i*? "lL},,:,tt,'}ij of__1ng. pdyments.
,i,T.flr,
Now and then a conspirary in high places is uncouered, lil<eWatergate, Irangate, or any other -gate
you tdrc to mention-
If someone tligs ior goid,
The'Obseruer'says there is evidence oJ large-scale British inuoluement in the lran-Cate ffii
il,;;:+:tfl #iiiu]{ii,t.+T[
1;:1ll::, sh; il. H.r,ffi.,,,j;
they look for an easv wav
of getting rich. Whi;h oi
now emergingfollowing the collapse of the Bank of Commerce and Credit International. And it
occaslon been"d.;;
,naivelr
the following are six-figurc
goes on to'list a series oJ complicated manoeuyres in which the Colonel is said to have used
dccounts at the Bank to transfer money from arms sales to lran to Nicaragua's contfi guerillds.
sums ?

,***-146*#*#'' a) $r5o,ooo
b) $++,stz
tabloid /8
6 Presidential paranoia. Read this extract from an American National
c) $35,789.jo. Public@ Radio broadcast made on the zoth anniversary of the Watergate
break-in, and answer the questions.
Dirty tricks Ifa plan is botched, is break-in 129.11

it carried out
WHAT WAIEEG.ATE
bugsins 22 1I
Politicians may accuse their opponents of successfully?
using
unfair or even criminal methods agri.,st them,osrch
as paying people to make false
,teaiirlg WIS nLL ABouT The files were rifled,
".cJsatiors,
documents, bugging phone conversations,
and so on. break-in at Watergate'
The hotched or stolen, to see what d ___, or
eii- itt name' was olly 3
bus 22 ll
I hese methods are known as dirty tricks and are damaging information, the
usually part of a campaign to rp..id disinformation: minute part ot wnat it wasrifling
']"r.'i.r,"s;.,"",he- all about' Democrats had on Nixon.
halt-rrurhs and lies. [ll-]ii"'trr" Democrats and thev might their
r"u'" what Paranoia is abnormally intense
fli"t':;;fp;;*tv
'h;;; 'b" to
The most famous dirty tricks campaign of
1972, when President Nixon ordered"the
all was in dirty tricK 24 f| Nixon, was . only o-1: suspicion and distrust. Nixon's
was'fanned' by anti-Vetnam war
partyt ofiices in the'Watergate building in
Democratic #u"jr"tiuiion of Presidential paranora protests. Did it get a) more
'Washington
to be burgled. Watergate may now be
fu"""a. bY anti-war Protests' intense. or b) less intense?
mentioned and the suflix _gate ur.a *h.,
burgtary 129
[ Once critics r"o,.
referring
to dirry tricks campaigns, but to ,ry.rr"?f perceived as'enemies :r#;*"l',i,,Y*1'Ji 4 Ifyou flout the law, do you obey it?
"":.:nll unfamiliar to Amerrcan politics' then the
political or business corruptio;and it,
ii* ";;;' i"ne Constitution could .be 5 If you put a tap on someone's
".ro.iat.J
cover-up: rhc associatcd attempts to cover of nationai security' phcne, you g it.
hide, thc truth.
up, or ii."tJ i" the name or
#;;.;;;o.,ia u"ahd Put on the Phones to 6 If an olficial leaks information to
iiiil,iJu,1"t" aides the iournalists the press, do they wish their
a TAIIGUAGE IIOTE -
trf..t if-r.v might be leaking'
"be
and so
identit;, to be known?
The noun cover-up is also spelt as two words l'."iiii,ir'rir"i't' ptunt could and.dtryl
cIA
42 ;i"i;;' *i8"'Pi"ua FBI dissenters'
7 In a surveillance operation, do
organisations such as the police
IS.u"ittur-t." on American 43
spy on people?
Unit 2 Politics
@-.*{......r'q

3:15::1r:5:=
All this *as-oily the fiist installmcnt Somcone in a conspiracy 'l'ht opitticur poll was coruludctl among
of the conspiracy. Re-elected bY a corrspircs,rp _- u,irh otlrcr
a sampb of t5,ooo adults randorily and sricntifcally
landslide, Nixon had more omlnous pcopi('ru do somcthing rtlcgal. srlee tcd.li<un all 450 loral gouernment dreas in Nigeria.
olans for his second tt'rm whicll werc h puts Lthour support at 53 per tcnt oJthe elertorate, the highest.figurc ruordcC in the poll oJ
lborte.i by the unraveling ol Watergate. Nixon had more
yolls. Tht rcsults werc taken.from sy1y311by six pgllin! organisations: Callup, ITarris, Mori,
He planrrcd a clean sweep of officials onrinous, or tlrrcrtcrrirrg, plans
unresponsive to his dcsigns and the tor Iris sccorrd term, but thcy ICll.l, NOP and Audience Selettion.
stationing of White House commissars weren't carried out because of Pollsters are to thange the way they measure publit opinion after getting the result of thc last
and depi-rtments and agencies to bring the'unraveling' of Watergare,
[i-cnl elcrtion batlly wrong.
them under tighter control' which was investigated and
Opinion polls predict that the M-rg pdrty nay either win the polling or emerge with suficienl
He had told counsel John Dean to explained. For example, Nixon
yotes to threaten the hold of the country's principal parties.
'keep notes on all of those who try to do had planned atlean iweep'oF
us ih,' and said he would trse igainst 'unresponsive' ofiicials. Did he
Opinion polls arefiregglyting that a non-Communist coalition of partie s, Demos, will win at least
them the full powers of government thal intend to neglect any ofthese
per cent of the uote.
he had not used in the first four years. people? $
He planned to expand the plumbers, the Ifyou do somcone in, do you It also concluded that most of the uoters who had chosen ro remain silent would probably back tlrc
White House intelligence unit, into a
a) help rhem, b) artack rhem? opposition. Because of this, it is essential to uiew the poll\ jndings with some scepticism.
large-scale intelligence and surveillance
operation. II What do plumbers normally NOP\ unadiustedlorecast was one oJ the most arcurate oJ any by-election exit poll, in which
work on? pcople lruuing the polling booths are asked how-iiQited.
So when you are asked, 'GrandPa, a) pipes, taps and leaks
what was Watergate all about? Was it b) electricity, or c) woodwork
about dirty tricks and politics as usual?' T2 A paranoid person suffers from 7 Last-minute polls. This column, by Bernard Levin, published inTheTimes
Then you should answer, 'No, it was
-a paranoid P a. (zg.l.Sr) Iooks at the question of whether polls shouid be banned in the last
about politician who saw
enemies aIl around him and who tried to r3 If so-meone hijacks something. week before elections. Complete the gaps with the words listed. (a is used
hijack the whole government in order to do they bring it under their four times, b and c twice each, and the othcr words once each)
punish them.' control using illegal methods?
a polls c pollsters e accuracy campaign
I-- polling d poll f inaccuracy h election

Polls and pollsters

Between elections, especially during election
n"1tr or surveys are condu"cted to
campaigns,
Fon late and Poll often (r) have been with us, in their present
:l]-l]:" -""r,r'." prrbli" Opinion
oprnron and to predict or forecast election results. r*=.*,*,,r"'.i,i"^"at1"Pl.:,:'^'"".bf
F.f l]Xi,,;mf :':j:1'":i::';
Polling organisations and the people working for
them are
1fi y'have been ;'"'r".;*iruilJii;;p"o*-*,o'*'""""""qii'i;t
t'-d ""Y. t"^c."P:Y
pollsters. They interview or poil a numb.. tri-- "igu"itutioir*l
of'p."pi", a sample
typical in its rnixof ages, social classcs ,"a p.oLr.il.rs of the demonstrale vsry rEruar^@'j;*G,b;r that feeling has long
population as a whoie. some voters found tl as -a .,,h^lc eniov the
ll':.
::s;r"T#: .l?L",,'L"# .r,ri'ii," ".r"",",ate ^^ whole enjoy
sample An exit poll is carried outjust after people have voted roundabouts'
as they poliiical swings and
arc lcaving the poiling srarion.
Bur ollc
lJut rlruJr be
LrrrlrB must
one thing emphasised: there is no evidenc" :l3t;1];i:'
uv v^r'F*.-v-"-
results (4) results,
by the
6ndings of opinion polts are more or tess retiable intentions are changed -.it -*""ra ^^^^^tql-rte for
, , u"f"-'i?""'1l.1,?"T'lXlf:i;l
''reliable.iesulis *";:l:X.1"dings lt::lJi.'ilffi.:',i1',1il;r;ti"v*""'" lv u"vtr.'i"e thev wish' even' ror
reliable.findings i[:",-J.'#;::i",f ii:t lTt;';.u,"i -^-r^^+r,.
1.c.qurat!,reiults-
,i
i"t,u""", the promises of the politicians'
ec-orrate16r!dii,igs a tAt{cuAGEltolE
The nouns corresponding to the vcrbs forecast
and predict arc forecast and prediction.
45
 Unit 2 Pol itics Trailing or riding high?

fyce, r"In" E."J'i[E

though not of .ou.r.rth-"-rnk, reason, bans the publication,
8 Ahead in the race, level pegging or trailing
Jurrng lhe final we (5) figures, behind. Match the two parts of thesc extracts'
o_U o t h. r-d.-*.u i. [narr
A poll publishcd on Decembcr 7th shows that President*.|4itterrandt popularity
t
rnerr soundings up to the h._-
lasl
trailing 2/9 lJ rating has slippcd to a new low of 3r per ccnt,
course, the parties which
During the last rz years this government has involved us in two wars, two
(o) re8ularlv denounce trailing in the
are
.f s.;, ;;aG;., ir.t, uments them as instruments .e."rsiorr, record unemployment, crirne and hospital waiting lists,
(ro), but as soon as the of shocking
-. Prime Minister Kaifu was riding high in the popularity polls.
order has been .""".rJIt
rr*Grr-1",rtr.:^r.",:l.3.,*".r11,,
proclaim that- thl The Socialists are trailing in the opinion polls but are gaining ground and are
"J-finest fello*. .iiu";
(r2) are the currentlY in
sense in itn .;"';-#;;ffiffi:il:if[.":]f;
lff.", (r3) thentselves
*J' Lr*rrrrsrvct oo.
""iifr".
ven: there is no "rii that
evidence There! been a lot ofpressure on him, saying that het at 9r per cent approval rating
,m" lh;,*r.^.^_
o.utcome. though of coursT do, or can, aflbct the in the polls, and he ctuld use that tremendous approval to do something, notjust
erectoral pu rDoses
e lhe voters may use ?f
the findings io.;;i.'";;
their own sit on it.
Two months ago, FatherJean-Bertrand Aristide, a priest who advocates power for
the impoverishld Haitian masses made a late entry into the race
Unpublished polls by Gallup confirmed that
Trailing or riding high? 7
8 weekend polls showed he had halved his opponentt pre-convention lead of 15 to
Between elections, pollsrers ask people if they z5 points. He was shown to be trailing by 14 points (Newsweek), rI points (7ime),
approve ofthe performance ofpoliticians and parties, nine points (Washington Posr) and eight (Los AngelesTimes)'
and the results are given as approval ratings or ratings /0 1I
popularity ratings. a 'This is the most open, fickle, volatile electorate we have ever seen,'said Peter Hart,
a Democratic Pollster.
In the run-up to an eiection, pollsters andjournalists ruce 218 [
may talk about a race in which the party or candidate b a fall of zr points in just thtee months. Another poll shows that thc ievei of
satisfaction^with his performance is the lowest for any president under the Fifth
tauourite 218 JJ
to win is the favourire or the front
ff":lfr, front-runner 279 [ Republic.
Candidates or parties with the best results in opinion c and instantly became the front-runner for president'
polls are said to be ahead or riding high. Their lead d And of course, if he succeeded in getting a peace in the Middle East, he would go
is often given in percentage points over the others. down in history. He could win thi Nobel Peace Prize. He would be remembered
forever.
When two parties or candidates have about the same
amount ofsupport, they are said to be level c lar better shape to fight an election than the bitteriy split union of Democratic
pegging or running neck and neck. neck and neck 279 U
Forces.

Candidates or parties not doing so well are said to be i So high, in fact, that faction leaders in the Liberal Democratic Party were starting
running neck and behind or trailing or trailing behind. Iftheir results to worry.
neck improve, they gain ground. the two main parties are now virtually level-pegging.
level pegging It
vcr the polls still show them running neck and neck with the opposition. seems

gain ground crazy to me.

a tAI|GUAGEltoTE
Favourite is spelt favorite in American English.
Front runner and level pegging are also sp"elt with hyphens
Neck and neck is also spelt with hyphens, especially in the
i6 cxprc\slon running ncck-and-neck.
47
Unit2 Politics
Getting elected

Gasting your ballot

On elcctior day, votcrs go to thc polls. They
vote,
or cast their votes or ballots, to eiect candiiatcs.
l)coplc ra,itlr tlic right ro vore arc voters,
and roscrhcr
nrakc up rlrc elecrorate. Thc proportio,,
actually voting is thc turnout .rrd th" totrl "ip".if"
,u_b",
of votes cast is the total vote. people notlro,lrg---
abstain from voting and are counted as absteniions.
. tII{GUAGEtoTE
The noun turnout is also spelt with
Tire ballot or the bullet? Look at the cxtracts arld
conrplctc thc dcflnitions belorv using thc kcy rvords.
Itt thr scparLttc u,onten's pollitrybooths it is spccially dilficilt to dctctt-lilst uoters sirtrt nany oJ
titr rt'rncr art itt ptrdah. a
Currcnt estimates are that fcu,er than halJ'of digiltk Anerirans arc cxpetted to cast their ballot otr
\orcnber j.
I bting will not be by seoet ballot but by the rcntrouersial ntethod oJ queuing behind yourJauourite
t,tndidate. Many peoplefear that the queuing system u,ill create conditionsfor draos at the polling
sttltions, but the gouernment says it is an open systcnl whith will *op tlte prartice offlling ballot
a hyphen.
i6w h i aiti u s all t p ap er s.
it o b o

)[r Rao was certain ofuictory, yet there were reports that his supporters had captured booths and
:rr.fibd ballot boxes. In Bihar many people diecl and neu, balloting u,as ordered in hundreds oJ
y,,lling stations.

Israel is a democratic society where gouernnrcnts arc changed by the ballot box, not the bullet.

It.\ ele(ion day in Chad people ballot ::,...;j!gj!,,.iit._:r Voting, p takes place at
-
throughout the tountry haie been castino cast iball,iili-,'.lr,,:; s.:,]:,
ballot.6d*li$$*r:; p t Ina
theil uotes dt thefrst contested ,teiAi"
since independenceJrom France in Uallotpip"qS:-:",
'"i" .; I , voters mark their b tna
ry60. *ecretba'1161' .l
On Septeimber 1th the uoters of Hong
ballotiig. . . g b and place them rn a o
r'i -.' -l
.i:,ii:],!!ili a:,ijtii.::rl
Kong, casting ballots in the Bitish . :rr

f rs t t ruly dem ooat i c legi sl at i ue polling .,r.- _o _ . The ballot box is often mentione d when contrasting
r o.l o ny's

elettion, deliuered China a slap- in the pollingbooth ' l

,
democratic mcrhods rvith terrorist ottcs.
Jarc.
This Sunday, Peruuians uote to elect
their zjrd president. Getting elected
[t is the second ti^, ,n o hr-,:.,!.!.,
f1yt, olHungary haue been asked to go to i.gir!ffiffi Abody that passes laws is a legislature. Candidates
and the atmospheie is mayrerlho.t.t\
the poils
) ,today oJlact, no1, of th, ,rn* otcasion which preua,ed rwo ::tX*ll'i}1},:r win or gain seats in legislatures under different systems
weeks ago when uoters were uotingjrielyTr.*ith
oJ
rt., jrri ,i*, in 4o years.
i
seat ..*W;!$i.ir in different countries. Existing members of a legislaturc
'The sunshine has broupht out the voters
gain,li:lPili*.1i33!,: who are not re-elected lose their seats.
in drcues, and *e expect a very high turnout,,aTbry win a :i!tit.'.;i.i,rl;:':li::i
ffirial said last nighr.
t"r" The two main methods of electing candidates arc:
But many liberals and conseruatiues may abstainJrom ".*i*r,.}i:lii
nting because in recent months the1, l1a*
been hit by inf ation and une,mploymri, ;ATn"r"irrrirrr;trrpr*, eiectoral system candidatc, arc elcctcd from a list in proportiorr ro rhc
harc but limited appealfor theit.
o-ftt , ntofirt *r)), por,i^ first-pastithe-po3!. number oi cast lor cauh candidatc. and
propottictnal "otes
Agroiting proportion ofEurope.afls ,re not hothering
to uote. I, portugal abstentiotts
leaptJro,t representation first-past-the-post, rvhcre the carrdidate n'ith thc most
PR ..r ii.'
2z per cent in the
ryg7 general electiotr to 32 per rcfit"in ryq1. votcs rn the constituency u'ins, cven if hc or shc has
list fcwcr votcs than the othcr candidatcs combined.
Somc countries usc a combination oiiroth eiectoral
consatueocy systerns. .

49
 Unit 2 Politics Knocked out in the 6rst round

His promise to nake the !)cnate an eltctcd body with Lfectit,c pou,(, thc mdin dettand oJ'u,cstern a T.AIIGUAGEll0IE
Canadians, is ta.qtrcr. Run-off is also sPe lt as otrc word.
Run off, first round aud sccond round can be spclt with a hyphcrr-
Monqolia pronisedJrtt'nulti-piirty clertions to the legislature, thc Creat Ilural and has
has
beconcthcjrst Asianttatiott /(, l,dJ&I() tlttuindso1 ,harrA,rumpitryinJronEasternDuropc. inthe National Assembly rcntainto be dedded.T'h-Cse intlfili.
.About hal;f the t20 sedts
In tlrc Bulgariatr clectiotrs, tonlputer predictiotts giue the Socialists *_fornrcrly the Communists ,.r,r,;,ruirirs in and around the coufitty's most itttportdnt cities, Libreuille and Port Centil' u'here
- 'btt,t,utse
nearly hafthe uote arul therefore about loo seats oJthe zoo decidetl under the pR system.The of irregularities the ballots tdst in la* month'sirst round oJ uoting u'ete annulled.
jgures obrained hy tlte BBC shou' tltat of thc no detided untler thcf rstlast-thc-posr uictors werc dt ledst eight gouernment ministers, induding Dr Amal osmat4 one
sears
system, the Socialists hate won 76 seats.
Atrctn! the NDP
n't five women who haue soJar secuied parliamentary seats.
o,,ti Tlrc second round run off uill be
Israel\ electoral system is one of proportional representation by list. Each party lists its candidates i,, Drir.brr 6th and only then will afull lkt of membets be availahle'
for the Knesset in order of seniotif,iniis thiGtts iiiiulate, another name on the list enters
the Knesset.
I { A politicat killing? Put this BBC report into a
ln ry89 the Green Party receiyed z million uotes, rS pel rcnt oJ the uote, in the European logical order. (The first section is a.)
elections. Howeuer, betause ofBritain\frst-past-the-post electoral system (whereby only the
candidate who receiyes the nost votes is ele(ted) the CreenlTidiiliii single siat.

BRAZIL'S WILD $TEST

About r.3 million people uoted Labour in scotland. There, it won 5o seats. Irx the English
heartland, between the was.h and the Auon (excluding London), some ry million people uotetl
Labout There, it won j seats.
Gomez Pires' who is also a
The supporters of PR point to the unJairness of the present system where one member of
a L 4z-yer'oid Brazilian senator' Mr Olavio
parliament rePresents one diuerse constituency where the majority of people may haue iotedfor a ip i tt''
number of other candidates.
ca nd i d ate for the
govern
"'h "
Riports say two men drew
Y"::1:-'::t:
up'tn a :LThtJ:ihffit'
i.."'tt ", dead' t'p"'reot'o vtlho' They opened fire
was leaving his ofiice i" t'liJ
't"t"e
lO Legislature quiz. Legislatures with machine guns'
are often divided into lcd by the
upper and lower houses or chambers. Match these h Senator Olavio Gomez
who was standing l" " ::''liti"" round of
vi'ctory-in the Frrst
legislative chambers to their countries. Sociaiist Party, the PTB:;;d;;;w round on
run-offsecond
3'd;;;;; faced a
voting on october
1 House of Commons a Germany November z5th'
is going to Rondonia
2 Sejm b United Kingdom A commission of senators
"c The attackers got away'
3 Bundcstag c Ireland io;t r"r,ig"e ihe assassination'
4 Riksdag d Mongolia that,state *"^T'-::::rO];';XtJ;."ff "
,ection campaigning in
5
6
7
8
Great Hural
Cortes
Dl1l
Lok Sabha
e Poland
f Sweden
g Spain
h India
" The
d
:il tiit :iofJ;,'5
llt." ,roi.,r
: i:'1-': :,iJ l,: F r:: :, {::lTjn il r l*
lrontiei
a rcgion - 1h' 'T"9s'Jlga'l;,t;';;;;;; ;.'.
Rondonla bo-r
*
9 Knesset i Denmark In.t. t.*ttfy by drugs traffrcking campaigner Chico Mendes u'as
10 Folkcting j Israel rvhere the to""t""o"i**'"J foi"it'r
murdercd two vears ago'
a politicai killing
rs t-rot clear' I['it was
Knocked out in the first round c' The motive for the assassination to be \tagcd agarn'
;;;"1;;;"s in that statc may have
iounds ofvoting In some countries - France is one - there are two rounds of
.::.firstiound voting, usually a week apart. Ifno otre candidate in rhe first
irlgico_ii{ round round ofvoting gets more than 5o pcr cent ofthe vote, thc top
rwo candidates go on to a second round in a run-off, with each
run-off...',. trying to attract the first round supporters ofthe othcr candidates 51
50
 Unit2 Politics

Election results

Electoral fraud
election returns l{csults in an elcction arc also known
returns. An opposition partv or
as clection
outsidc obscrvcrs
Thais cast spells to check poll fraud
free and fair n)irv arcusc rhr. orgejli5crs olthr:
elcctiorr oi"i".i"rrr
elections lraud..s.ryirrlg thar'thc clccrions fraud 96j| rhat has seen the mosr srrenuous
havc not b""; f;;;'' *rr*:,:]:.j1"^lcampaien
in Thailand to stop vote_buying efforts ever
and fair. and other
electoral fraud ' an end, the government_appointed
Vote-rigging occurs, for example, :1i?r1l (2)-
lz)'
when ballot boxes watch committee hired witcl
. iiregularities. arc filled
with fictitious UAlot j^pl., o..#;;;;;;' ,,, ,-^19o.,orc
1:,1 fraud.
to invoke benign spirits to
ffi
vole-rigging
masstve vote-
F1',""-'#ffi:1x, ;fl.T', i Yl :'Jj
as massrve or widespread.
# il J,;; J,':,-, ff The committee said: .Sunerstition
is needed to fight satanic influences.,
The wirch-docrors had rheir biss;;r;;;;;;;u
fornr oIirregularity __. irii,l"''
r.:widespread vote- fiolhel may take place before ofCeneral Chatichii Choonavan,
rrc electlon. when boundaries between ionstituencies ---:a - 1+)
pnme mrnlster, who with otherministers *u, u..*.J of
a lormer
,::' rL:$$nc',: -r-r':,:,,
are drawn. If the goveruing parry .o..upiion
Doundancs to rhcir own advantage
draws the whiie in office. The armv citsrthe;;;;;ilffi;lrrii.ution ro, tr,.
gQq,qymandednii.r,,: they are guilty of coup last year.
gerrymandering.
Reciting magic words. ihe witch
Elections were held' but.Yhen doctors cast spells on pieces of
!!.1!!!r1! showed that Doe losing heauilll he confiscatetr hide and iron nails that were.laler animal
baltot boxes' announced' he hrfi;";;;;;;|in1t ^was all the scal.tered around the houses
of
01,t , uote ind decr),red hitisely
The State Department said
y that the Romania,n elettions on
ttresiaent.
il iijil';Il: :T:jll.,. :?id
the rte ms wourd ..,1.0 r,i",,i,]
than oqooo
l""ll,r suspect /38 lj
t* \onlay ,rr:*r,
sera,ri*o'r"iiri-ii a*rnrr rril";;;;;";;irT**, Orrrrlr, i""j#j f]:ll.^,:"1.rVrore i'een on trre
""rrri...riili
with a heatv uoter h,trnout,
the elettions were free eirti", a^y' irrrrt'i,,,rs se_em to haue
dekrmine if H.l"#f#,"mpts
man polling
to manipui#;h. d#;.ffi;;_ they wlr
oppuitio' "t!27 po7itirat partv
been mini'nar, Mr
t,',;;;,^;;;',',o,,ptained oJbreathes
Bourher
(5) to stop fraudulent

ii!;,!,i!,i.' of etection taw

she has acrttsed her opp-onents

oj 11111iue uore-ri2pinq_. She
said barot hoxes were sroren and
switrhed, artd agenrs of he, prrti nmAffi\
ln trtc Supreme Courr tonteded that
1986'
genymande:lg- rht pracrice of drawing
help onc poliriral parry _ ro, boundaries ro
tr rutlrr,'ioi"ffir),r*. Election results
12 Wrt.tr 'When
$,ay ro vote? Read this report vtctory it becomes apparent which parties or
abour thc irse orwitch-d".;;;; fromTheTimes claim poli rcians have won an election, the winners claim
electoral fraud. Awitch doctor
i,
or check,
,o.r,r.or.. thought to
i;;.*l;l vict ,,ry and the losers concede or admit defeat.
have magic powers. Th.r. defeat
;;;;;r";;;;i"; invoked Ifa party or a candidate wins an election by a large
rhrouqh rhe casti,g of spelis:
;;;;;*j;rrerances amount or margin, commentators talk about a
rhoughr ro har.c ,,,fg,.ri"fl".;;'i;ii
ol^ Irc * o rd s i sr cd.'l-*.o
,;.!.pr rrr,,g ri* landslide.
r I *.lJr' rr.',,.r'riln margin
a boorhs landslide
b elcctoral
c YOtr nf e gerrl.rranderine
c consti tucn cr,
d poll f vote-riggrng " h irrcgulari ties
'l'he
tttnseryatiye New Demouacy Party are daiming uictory in the Creek elettions after winning
htli thc Joo sea!s.

Iknitzir Bhutto hds adffiilted defedt inLVednesday\ general elections, euen before official results
h,n,e cohf.rmed whot setr* to hrue been a majoieleitoral upset.
53
 Throwing the incumbcnts out
\Jdt 2 Politics

opposition leaders in Zambia say that President Kenneth Kaunda has concerlcd defeat. 'l'hc opposition parties in the tiny island fl(ttion are to tofitest.only 4o ttJ'thc 81 seats in
ptarantecrl ttt br rctilrtrcd'fot d scrtntll
Prcsidttttial ,lnllen.qer l'rcdrrirk Cliltha told rtporters rlnt hcd spoleen tiith Kiiirla ott rht ,irrri*lrir*.l-hi t"'oplci Attion Part)' is thcx'fore
telephonc. 'to,,rr'rrrliul lttn of ofr't
They tecciued 55 per cent the uote, a comJortable nargin in the Atlcastthcytdnhtthrowtrotrto.fttfrice
oJ
-firct parliaffientdry electiols i,11" o{atrsepolititianswillsonrctinre,rilabc6aririrrisit,rt-s.
the unif cd Cermany. ,inl ikc u n ar rot r nt abl c tc nt ral ba nk rr'
Now with Communism in all itsJorms discretlited, he has come down infauour of social democraty Thegeneralanti-incumbentJeelingcouldwellgiueheruictotydespitethecampaigngaJJ.esslrcis
within a pluralistframework. But his party's apparent landslide yictory in the elictions dppears to naking.
make a multi-party system something oJan irrelevantelo;naA;f;;r. Solchaga optitltistidly wants afresh matdate to
raise value-added tax'
Seior

l3 Surprising victory or massive defeat? These words

the.rascals out. Read this extract frorn National Public
Radio'
are used to describe
victory and defeat. Complete 14 Th.o* in office'"Say where
.rbout ltmrrtng tne ti;; rnembers of Congrcss can stay
them. who is an oPponent of term
,i ,h..adio reporter and b) the politician
a) 9-!_c_r_9_1 i1;i;;;".;;[;;; ,p..r.i"g. They .".h speak rwicea nor all rhe numbers
0 4- y- l l_l- sg jndicate a change ofsPeaker
b) e_s!_r!_q!_ c) !--v-v
c) s_ny_ne_ng h) v rw !-ls-lg
d) 9r-lh_tc i) s4-lg tIilIIilIIG IERMS OF OFTIGE
e)dcsv i) :P_e !_9_!_l ( r ) B ut
*ho .'nt
i
u yL.J: ffi ::::J:T:: il:T!t;':',;:.f.' savs
st as
:if:il;;urin bv
Re p ub
tn'
r ican s

,o hold on to their iobs'

fi
i
fhrowing the incumbents out Iimits are suspect as locurrusr.;t" ".;;;;.,
l-:"^," ,; his ser
Ai Swift' t'ho's in
seventh term'
Washington Democrat is not taken
rvho is affected by term'lim:t^i::1it
The swing from Party X to PartyY is the percentage
rzt Anv incumbent
of voters who previously supported X who now out about term limltatrons'
supportY iJr,.r'rr, *htn thev speak you're iust tryine to
think naturallv so - say"Well'
If incumbent parties or politicians (that is, parties or (1) People - '."1 I
politicians in power or in oflice) get re-elected, they Protect your loD : +oe.limirs more credible' Srvift -^+
receive a fresh mandate from the electorate for a new
;; ;;' i;'
;:'f ;:i;;
n i'r i a'l i v e
^i in :; ; i
term ofofEce. Ifthey dont, they are thrown out of
t* : "'"x l'.,* :.i; tt : :;T' :li:
office.
would force him out it Passes'

, s ; 81, h en, "t :: : : nt Ji ;H;*:ll :';: *l:'.X;ly*=i: itjl as he makes hts

ofrie ,-,',o" readv t' listen
ff"#T'f;[]?i'"';:.,;;''Ih
the crtize n vhr) goes
into
The Labour totncil\
dedsiort to moue the Nortltern Ballet.from Manche ster to Halifax at a cost oJ rr limitation on
1!zoo'ooo so angered thc Locals that there u,as a huge 10 per rcfit swing against Laboir in the X;.r, Iimitations ar heart is
di:trirt elctriort in AIal'. the'oring booth . ,,f rhemr. ',rhich.is
6i661
is berng sold on
a'thro*'-the-rascals-ottt'"T,T:;:;:il i;;-;;;'"
Rut rou r
17; It
Th.e possibility of d ncu, leJi-of-centre party energing u,ill beJru*rated by a combination of
Labour\ detlining preseme and ourfrst-past-the-post electoral system. TheTbries will reiain in somervn" p"p""'i.."1
rlways somervnar PUPU'."*ingr:i;::';f:;lT o;,]toli;'rar
back.
ofrtefor ffidny years to tom?.
arways
careful of thest
r. ih.r, oft"r-, bitc
got to be
-_^-_-#,-_
55
Unit 2 Pol itics
Rainbos, coalitions and political horsc-trading

Absolute maiorities and hung parliaments ll, ina systcrn usually dorninatcd bv tivo partics
hung parliamenl
(usually thc British onc), ncitlier prrt\'[]cts:tn or.crall
majority Ifo,c.party obtairrs nrore seats than
absolute mqjority conrbincci, ar thc othcrs party :' r nrajorit1,, conrrlrcntator-s talk about :r
overall majority
it lr., ,,, ;;;;uiil. ,u.ot,rt" r,najorirv ancj fringe.party
.

is rbtc to form ;
;;";;;;;; o, irs r,,.r,:r. minorltY Party
Ifrro onc party breakaway party A party is a partv hoiding a
has an ovcrall maiority, a coalition --.
splinter party-
govcrnment is lornrcd, oftcrr after relatively small numbcr of seats, and a
_r.h in,"._*.t,
orrgalnrrg arrd rrcgotiation. Ifthe gou.rning party is one rvith extrerlc vicr.vs atrd
pa.tie, r'i::!' J : r'
do not between rhem hold
6r"gi6i1'. ":]; very little support.
of seats, they splintcr factiiia ri..: --
form a minori,, *orr".r-J.[ajority
A party may be rnade up of rival groups or
. A_---lictionmay
break away to form a separatc party, kno$,n as a
partyora party.

--

';l':t i::;:!,"i:',:ilo!,.o":o*"', thc Lok Sabha,,onucncs tomonow.The Conpress parry and its Rainbow coalitions and political horse-trading
sam Miller in D'th;''";;l;;t";;;'bongirr,
Jind enough supprr, ,r'r*)irffi#w ,on oooosition. ''- Parties opposed to thc government form the
. ,. :.;1" . opposition and may work together in an opposition
Thc Free Demooats
the
are the kingmakers of Cerman
ro ji; . coalition'
iyt roulag';i'it r*
potts "o"fiqg{. / ''
,r,r,?"rgirrg;iirg;:;;;'#iii#ffif;r:rrr,!:rrJ;:r1:!;:,*
Kohl\ CDIJ. Siice he\.untikety ,7 g*7, ),i;,ir,'{
obDosttloD
"5j,jil;;"i.**,.. . A rainbow coalition is one containing many
" --'-''"" *rt:!]!l
"'". he,, haue ro rety on the Free used to
Democrats toform anothergoueinmint. rainbow.c6aliiion different interests; the expression is sometimes
Indira Gantlhi, insta,ed , -.. . .,..,1,-,, indicate approval of unity between difl-erent
as p.rim.e minister in ry66, wds supposed to be a pussycat. she prouerl to 6ors":*iditrA..I,ti..,. groupings, and sometimes to indicate disapproval of
be a tiger instead, ,""ning o- U"U
irr;rr;rlt:1o, t*o yrorr. the fact that the groups have so littie in common that
^ir,",riri
they should not get together.
15 Hrog parliaments and splinter parties. Read the examples Critics ofproportional representation say that one of
and complete the commentary with its defects is that it does not often produce absolute
thekey words.
The Liberal Demoudts drc hoping majorities, and they refer to the bargaining between
that these policies will be implemented aftet the next election the toalition parties, disapprovingll', as horse-trading.
pi.: they would demandfor;forming a ,iolit;on gorrrn*ent in a hung parliament.
:a
The ut' n w,r haue to make an 'flrc opposition coalition, led by the Mongolian Democratic Partl', has arrtsed the ruling pany of
ariance with a minority party representing
populatron in Bulgaria. theTilrkish
hring insincere about reform.
" 'the BharatiyaJanatd parry: of:',x-zort! of Hindu extremists onry afew years latkxtn said his Rainbow Coalition will be working to build u,hat he called'a neut independent
though it could b, pnrt o1 thi goiiiilffiri ago, it rooks as
I)cnrcoatft najority'.
,n, ,ilrri"n.
7-he opposition social Demotratic and .\lr Lenihan sdid he was beaten by a rainbow malition thdt did nor rc.f,err thc normal ditisions in
creen partics, meanuhile, lo-st strength
antin{ \ntdll sllintrr ptrtics. arul split their uotes
lrt:h politits.

tost its nmjoritv i" partiament when a sptinterraction .1.[tt'r a short honeymoon, the rul'ing utalition u,ill begin'it: horst-tr.;tltng, lrilgglinq otcr ministerial
i:,:f,i,:;';,:;:;:;;i':i::i;?;:i;rrtav l) d-i fj.
Dr Mahatir\ (Jnite, Marays'Nationar
organkation, th; doyi_yayt party oJ the
arrusedTonku Razalcilh, who leads, nrring coalition,
brr"E;;;;"p-;;,v'fron LIMN.O kro.*n o, se;iorgor
splitring ond rhereforc u,rakcnin7 *'
rh, Mo@, +0. u.f

57
 ya:.?.....i.?1.:'.::.'- Rainbow coalitions and political horse-trading

16 creaking coalitions. Read this article from The Inderendert.

rvrirten.by politician who believes in the first-par,_i1.,._por,
a ffiinkthatitwould
uuL rrr
but rn practtc"tt-i'tt:,t-"i:ll'"
r^*----,
elcctoral system, and answer thc questions. be lalrcr'
iairer,
t" minority
rlisoroPortionate, Powe
o"n'"'
;:",',8 ;:*I:,ili:l;';tl;'"
OUT OFAtt :i: :il j:
j:?f i' fl:i.' ii.I[l$l
:;il;'idt;;t' r s87 and r ese,Yl;t*tl;l:
]:J9!,

Fianna Fiil Parry wtth.'

malortryThe risult' after
PBOP()RTI()N
The general theory of proportional
secure an overall
tI Did the Progressive
If something is appealing, Democrats have
reoresJntation is simple and appealing:
each political party receives a number of
seats in the legislature in proportion -to
is it attractive? [*ir*t*r:r*tYi'iq,lll'-;
;f,:i;:;:;;";ation - a d"Eree or infl uence
disproportionate infl uence
in relation to their electoral
the number of votes cast in its favour' In L, "i "rii,t"portion to ih"it PgPYl"tiYl suPport?
Instead of 'runs', the word seats
that way, so the argument rqll, g _ _ _ could be used here. esoeciatly conslderlng they held 14
Parliameni would accurately reflect public prior to the electton'
opinion. That is the theory, but what about aspect the If you have a link with
the practice? But 'fairness' is only .one 'of
T2
thai ttrgse, y],ro' something, are you
If something is defunct, it i;.,rt.i';v;t"m i{i33t;a
the link between- with it?
Let us take the result ofthe 1987 General ::;;il";;;;;'sider; or her rePresentattve connected
is no longer in e x his
Election. The Conservatives took 42 per :#;i;;;;'d A constituent is someone
cent of the vote, Labour 3r per cent and
:r".o"t[rlrnportant' one of the strongest' r3
4 'Whoever didl V/hoever who votes in a given
the now-defunci tlliancet z3 per cent. If did what? ,ir"t",-.ttr.i'"g and attractive aspects, ot
seats had been distributed under a PR is the relationshtP C
;;;d;;;*til 'Yttt* own constituency'
svstem. neither the Conservatives nor 5 Ifyou are relianr on ;:il".n Mi; and their
14 If something endures, is it
Laboui would have been able to form a to their rootsi to
someone, are you ili;;;;;;k;nds go backthem authoritY to temporarY?
government on their own. Whoever did independent of them? il;;;il;i;*ho"g"u'
ivould be reliant on - and therefore 6 It you are beholden to be MPs.
beholden to - the votes of the 'Alliance'' PR' MPs would
someone, do you owe Under some versions of 15 If something fulfils
So who then would be calling the tune in them a favour? ;'ii',l..fi,,.r,x1t'll+i:i a
requirement, does it satisfY
Parliament? Which party above all could H,:.,r,'.,ffi t
7 Ifyou call the tune, you
be sure that its policies were the ones that
would be put inio actionl Answer:the one
areincon____of i[rt]ii:
navlrrB
c_ Iil,'";
::t"';':',', Hi :1 f
"'D' "- ^ x whole county or
ii that requirement?

with iust )j per cent o[ the popular vote' events. of 16 If something is central to
The alternative would be a creaking 8 Is a creaking coalition -*;;:. fi;ii;t of mutual dePendence and
".*rii,.r?".i.s something, it is verY
coalition, paralysed by fear of losing
a

control. And it needn't be a percentage as

workable one?
t".'s:H'tnlt?,,lt'ln.:,"'.'"'J."'i":1:'i: ra!
high as 23. Look at Israel where tiny 9 If you are paralysed with central.
paities, *'ilh only one or two members in fear, are you able to act?
ih. Ktt..t"t, re[ularly threaten to bring ro Is an extrene policy a
dos'n thc goriernment unless their reasonablc onc, in mosr
policies - often extreme ones - are peoplei opinion?
accepted.

58 59
 Unit 2 Politics
Honeymoons, lame ducks and the political wilderness

Ho_n_eymoons, lame ducks and the political lllhouer wiuJaces the prospect oJ lcading a lame dutk ddministratiott.'lbo many hostile things
wilderness lnt bccn said on both sitles to giue cither nan any real hope o;f nning tlrcTories'nomitul zt-
scdt fidjority into a uiable loryy-term gouernncnt.
honeymoon Whcn a govcrnnrcnt is clectcd, thcrc is oFtcn a honeymoon
pcriod rvl.ren pcoplc arc not too critical ofit rrrainly ITis ur headed for the House oJ Comnons, its otcupantJor thc politital wilderncss.Today Mt
LrcLause .\tcllLtr utill make'i'statement to thc Commons at I t dm. Hc is upertetl to blame euetyone, apart
cabinet reshuffle thcy arc '"vaiting to scc what it will do in thc lo,rgcr
te.m. I'on himselJ for his resignation dnd destruction of political career.
crlsls Alter a whilc, norrrr;rlity scts in:
ministers may be given new posts, orlose their posts,
resrgn cabinet reshuffle;
in a 17 potiti.al lame ducks. Not only governments can be
stand dowo..':.
.r.
lame ducks. Put an appropriate noun from the list
they may leave the cabinet, or resign, stand down into each extract below.
' ', r .;,1,.,1 or quit
Quit ..
because of incompetence or wrong:doing;
there may be crises, when confidence in the :t prime minister c administration e congressman
governmcnt is so low that people wonder if it can b government d leader f governorship
continue and rhink it may collapse. Governmen
ts collapse 100, t6S
or polrtrcrans that have lost all credibilitv and r He could have lost so much political impetus that he would have found himself
authority are described as lame ducks. leadrng a lame duck
lame duck 99

Politicians or parties who leave ofiice and no longer

have power :Lukensisappealingthatconviction.Lukensisalameduck-.He
or influence are said to be in the political *ilae.'""rl. rvas defeated in the Republican primary and he has only a few more weeks to serve
ril congress.
a IAI{GUASEt{orE
The singular ofcrises is crisis. -1 ...his claims to have been sole architect of the statet prosperity for most of the
198os. But Governor Dukakis identified himself with the success and is therefore
,i* identified with the failure. He is rarely seen about now as he lives out the last days
!:^::! O*tidenty - in any new anything _ euerybody is hopefut,
of his lame duck .
lhere's a honeymoon period and there are
stars in rurryonri ryrr.
.W'hat
On Sunday, nine ministers whofauoured opening talks
with the 4 Britain doesn t need after a year of lame duck governtnent is another lame
opposition lost their jobs in a cabinet reshufre. duck *---.
Among the casualries in this ruthless cabinet reshuffie
were s Mr Olszewski may have felt that he would end up becoming a lame-duck
prime minister Harold Miiillan\ilfri
some oJrhe
and .- Mr Walesat spokesman has dismissed the significance of Mr
-'
closest col.leagues,_prompti ngJeremyThorpe
r, n*ork, Olszewskit decision to abandon his mission, saying the President has at least three
'Creater Ioue hath no man rhan rhis, thai
he tay down his other candidates for the post of prime minister
friendsJor his lifeI
(r [f he succeeds, he could only become a lame di..'k , his tenure -of
The Daily^Ti_legraph reports that MrsThatcher
only changed her mind ollce would be decided by Congress, whose long-term ambition is to win an
abo.ut no_trQght.ir.tg on a;t'ter the najoritl,
oJher cabinlet urgrTt u* clcction and govern India again.
E)!E!...It to1,t that three ubinet miniiteis harl threatenfi to resign iJ-
shc did not stand tlorun.

A minister qnt tu,o u,eeks alqo _;aying,,l'm tired of signinl decrees no

oilc lta),s ail(iltirlt tr.'
Th.e annircrsdrl,
Jtnds thc Sorialist-i .in trisis, Jacing the datger o.f
,:1,,y+ Ye:roday, tlrc p.,trr
y tost irs pnrliicit,ory^*o,1nr:i,y',, t,r,, lo
oJ tts dcpiltrc:.l.1.nrd ,i Lrtakau,ay
yraup.

60
I
61

L
 \Jnit2 Politics Grassroots support and votes ofconfidence

Grassroots support and votes of confidence l8 G.utt.oots Partners. Makc combinations fron'r the tabl c
rnd use them to fill the gaps ir-r the extracts belou'.
grassroots A govcrnrncnt'.s grassroots support during its term of office rnay
by-election becornc apparcnt during a by-election. Grassroots support is thc
support ofordinary votcrs. A by-election is hcld in a .:+
marginal constitucncy whcn the person represcnting it resigns or dics. lcvcl
consfltuencY In a first-past-thc-post system a marginal constituency, or opinion supPort
-r.gi""l ..,,.,, marginal, is onc where the incumbent menrber's majority was so followers grassroots lceling
Iow in thc previous election that it may easily by won by rcvolt carttpaigrt
another party in thc next election. A governing party may lose
its majority by losing by-elections in marginals.
If a governme nt wants to establish that it has a majority, or if it
loses its majority, or if confidence in the government is low for
other reasons, it may ask for a vote of confidence in parliament. Mr Heseltine has travelled the country, addressrng hundreds of local party groups
If it loses this vote, the government may call (fresh) elections, in an effort to build up grassroots
or, in British English only, go to the country.
An opposition party may call for a vote of no confidence in the Mr Ruhe sees himself as a future chancellor rvho has a good feel for grassroots
government, perhaps with the intention of bringing about new
elections.
3 Mrs Thatcher fell when her cabinets minister and influential groups of MPs
There may be a pcriod before elections when an interim or decided they had had enough of her: the strong support of her grassroots
caretaker government takes care ofthe everyday running ofthe did not count at all.
country, but makes no impoi'iant decisions.
The ANC will not want to underestimate grassroots that too may
a tAItGUAGEil0IE radical political principles are being compromised.
Grassroots can also be spelt with a hyphen or as two words.
Throughout its history, the Soviet Communist Party rvorked at Eirassroots
through its network ofcells in factories, ofiices and army units.
The results are also a major blow to the prime minister's hopes of using these elections to
demonstrate the grass-roots popularity of his economic re;t'orms. Webb, the underdog in this race, launched an aggressive grassroots
Glarlstone emergedfrom retirement tofght a by-election in the marginal Consetuatiue seat of , walking more thft\3oo miles in Dehver neighborhoods and
Midlothian in 1878, utinning it and retaining the sedt at the general election. sleeping overnight in the homes ofresidents.
l

Charan Sit ihwaseuentuallyaskedtoformagouernment,buthadtoaskforCongresspafty 7 Mthout economic improvements, his countrv could lace a grassroots
support to a.: so. This support wds withdrawn euen before thdt government couldJace a vote of
tonfdence, and the president then dedded to callftesh elettions in which Mrs Candhi was able to
,qain a najority.
I'hL: gorcntment ouerwhelningly rejerted a call by radical deputies to hold a uote of no confidence
ott tlrc proposals.
I_l'),rrrnt,r:re the Oharttllor kilowitE thdt in the next year or t8 months you haue to go to the
t:otLtttr), on l,ttttr crononit tui)rd this ttcrus u,ould scare the life out oJyou.

They lr,tlt'reptatedly tdlltd on him to resign and say a taretaker gLtuernment should take ouer to
superuise elertiotts tt.,ith rhe help oJ iflterndtional observers.

No date has bcen set-ior nulti-party elections in Nepal, but the interim govemment has said it
will hold thetn uithin a year of taking powe\ this is be-fore next April. Politically, the malition
63

t 62 inttrim.goterntnentisholdin.qto,qether.
 Unit 2 Pol itics (Jndemocratic regimes

Undemocratic regimes 19 A return to dictatorship? Ilead this extract ftonl?-he

Timrs and answcr the questions.
reglme LJrrdemocratic forrns of rulc, or regimes, arc authoritarian or
at]thoritarian autocratic. Hardline rcgimes refuse to allow any change in thc
autocratic political system. Hardliners arc nrembers of such regimes who
hard-line
totelitarian
are particularly resistant to change. Biancfl tes the
hardliner :' :
A country nray be ruled by:
a totalitarian regimc controlling all aspects oflife and not
Nicaragian
oL :r'"tt
,
allowing any opposition;
one-party rule, allowing only the political party in power to
presidency r If sornethingpromises to be
something, does it necessarily
,dictator:,:,r ..,r,.,' operate; Jagger's divorce
ll5-:.Bjrl.",Nicaragua in
she 1979, happen?
:dictatqrship,,,:,- .,,,, a military junta: a group of arrny ofiicers; I.,]llr..d. totaking
rand,mrsras
wirhin aayJ'<ii iiie
z Ifpeople betray their ideais, do
power una c.l"f6*t.a iiii
.,_: .ir-. ::r:.:i rl.. -,-.:.::.:: :.r- dictatorship: rule by a small group ofpeople, or by one person I !i!_9f s91".rrh h-aied diciirorrhlt;;;;;;i they remain faithful to them?
:it nii3..,,:,.l:nl' alone, a dictator. prom.rsed_to be a revolution
bringiitg equality
lgr all._'But the Sandinistas betraved
i:t: ,ra r:.:;: :,,i.ia,. , t:i.:t i ,,:. ,
A dictator, or someone else with autocratic powers and rdeals They became corrupr;d their
'Jutrta:'{:',-- ;1'.:,1:,
sdru. ney ran lhe countrv on
bril;;il;
methods, may be referred to in the media as a strongman. -r the basis of
extended patronage so tbat it was
tor democracy when it finally
unprepared 3 Ifyou have scorn for someone,
came.,
____ for them
you have s e n
a r.A]{GUAGE t{0IE
"
But Jagger rserves her most
tor-the
bitter scorn andyoudesp_4_them.
Hardline and hardliner country's present government. . Vroleta
are also spelt with a hyphen or as two words. Lnamorro was voled into power as 4 If you cede power to someone, do
Regime is also spelt r6gime. someth ins
Vr.ein Mary figure.'Brt ;h. ;;;;;E
9t- 1
you hand over power to thenl?
L?y._.
to her son_in_law. Antonio La;;yq
The initial liberal reaction to the break-up offormer Communist rcgimes was to eheer the wno now runs the country as an
autocracy.i
emergence of naiional identity. This enthusiasm soon gave way to ambiualence. The rcmoual of an of rz of the 5 If you forge something neu., do
authoritarian regi,fle was one thing, the remoual of all central authority was another. ^,Leaders. coalition have14 parties in
Chamorro's you destroy it?
government ,new accused her
...the intransigence of the hardline rcgime in Pyongyang, where Presiilent Kim Il sung has been
offorging a diclarorshiD;'; 6 If you are manipuiated by
Nrcaragua.. Critics_ cTaim rtrat
president sincc ry48.
Ctamoii'o li someone, are you free to act as
oerng marupulated by the Sandinistas,
who you wish?
stut torm the largesl party ana control
No euent could possibly highlight the fundamental difference between demouatic and autocratic t-trJ
army,. polrce, trade unions-.
banking system
gouernment so uiuidly as her departure, by due democratic process, at this time. tusinesses nalionalis;d dr;i;g-,;;;l;
1nd_
oecacle tn power.
ForToyears,atotalitaridnregimefort lpeopletoworl<anddistributedtheprodue*oJtheirlabor 7 If people fail to do something, do
through a higlily rentralizcd gouernm bureauoary. ,^An.American aid package of $r16 million
(t5&6 they do it?
,tt million) has b6e-n ft6.t.a i"'proi.rili
Akhough Cameroon's constitution prouirles for a multi-pdrty system, the country has been a de )!1<lrnrsta conrrol of the security fd..;;;; 8 Are peoplc and events under
lallure to investisate a nnsf-etper'i^- c-^^ c^- control in a frec-for-a11?
-fatto ttne-party state since t966. tii iHil:#l:"l Hxl:,i lf:l;:,;
nouses,.guns and government prop..ty
: ffi ff i:"f ; P,:
Son:z ele tred leader of Latin Ameriru uoultl be happy to offer an example of a military junta U"foi.
rrarltitq t l,ad cn,l.
ceding Iimired poier ro Chimorro. 9 Ifyou abide by an accord or an
P.qru,nt, who fought on different agrecment, do lrou break it?
[irl tlrct tne ttirtq ., sides in
irt r9qo, at Hendaye, ttn the French-Spanish border, was not a success. Franco ji]: ._yii war have ^been unirrng in proresr ar ro Ifyou turn back the clock.
kcpt Hitlcr uL1ititl,,l: il<)t all dictators make tlrc trains run on time. urc governm_enl s failure to abide -bv
ocace
accoros reached in r99o. .The clock .beins you go back to a situation accord 164 lJ
ls
ReJerring ro .\'fr.1lrgrlre ipldnJ()r a one-pdrty state, the paper says they may be AJiica\ way turned back at a'-tremendor; that exisrcd previous)r. irr
r\rcaragua. .There ";";"i; this casc, accorcling to Bianca
foru,ard, but they drc L)[t(n oflc-wdy routes to tlidatorship. says Jagger. is a d'esperati
need lor some new political answers l

...Enua Hodja, tlrc Alhdni,tn strongman who ruled the tountry with an iron hand, using stalin as IS too late'
belore it .|aggcr.dj:_______ I
This is happcnins at a
his role nodel.
tremendous pace, or vcry f _ _ _
64 65
Unit 2 Politics
Toppling governments

Toppling governments But in.fact martial lau, secms io harc been replated h), tEtally seucre laws limiting political and
n'[igious -fre cdom.
power . Thc nriiitery may seize power in a coup,
.seize 'l-\rc retwtt to tiuilian rule, u,hich ltcBins with locai goucrnme nt elettiotts in Dercmber, is being
coup d'ctat, putsch or military takeover anrl
.ijverthrow .;* inrpose rnartial law, or military control, on thc r,rr{ull'1, ,noitoretl lry the urrcnt military gopuilnlcttt
'depose . .. coLl ntry- 'fhe League won a sweeltingmajority in elcttions two months ago, but the authorities hauc set no
topple..: , .
In a revolution, thcrc is a sudden, oftcn violent, itnetablefor a hawlouer to citilian rule
change ofregime involving ordinary people, political
partics and usually the rnilitary.
2O Broken promises? This BBC broadcast was made at the time of the
In revolutions and military takeovers, the previous electionJreferred to in the last example above. Read it, complete the gaps
governrnent is overthrown, deposed, or in media with the expressions listed (one of them is used four times, one three times
terms, toppled. A revolution or coup is bloodless if and the rest once each), and answer the quescions.
thcre is no fighting, and bloody ifthere is.
[!.t The military nray promise a return or handover to a booth
b voting
c
d
elections
electoral
e seats
f cxit polls
martial law
h coup
civilian rule, or rule by non-military politicians,
after a timc.

Burmese elections
.,

a LAI{GUAGEiloTE
p* * *,g"$. P,,"**-"" 1"f
nrocesses in recent years' Burmese
1I
people have
If someone intimidates you,
they try to prevent you from
Ione to the polls in the firstmu
Coup d'etat is also spelt coup d'6tat. ior 30 Years. Although th liirtll,".*a ;i doing what you want to do
by !_:__!__ingyou.
The plural of coup d'etat is coups d'etat.
iXii*ujti"" ."J u""it o{ opposition tisYt"t.?l,,lli
Overthrow can be a noun and a verb. ';ii#;';;t;,nment. in. the run-up to tooavs Is itpossible for events such
" "" '-' r ' polling is reported to have passed elections to'pass ofl
1r), the as
For chilean President Patricio Aylwin, it was a chance to heal old uounils. ,4ylwin
who\ a Ji--t o ot
t't'.r f,r t Y an d Pea ce f u I Y'
I
violently?
center-right christian Demotrat, o%e supported Allende's overthrow. Butfor'ceneral
Augu*o (4) had been .oro5nisea-!1111
rhe
l[ll',r, r*
Pinothet, who toppled Allende arul then seized powerfor ri years,-the ,ri*ony
*o, on ofrron,
The rcup,that depo:ed P.res.identJean-Bertrand Aristide has reft Haitians
and their dipromats """'1,,":t'ldu: ::: ffiY"'tl[:::
angry and lrustrated with the United Nations. r*0"t, o""eial Maung' sai' at,a votrng
Saw
Ili,Yi"',
"""'"' '""",-ui'in 'l ha e kept
B":.ylo utould be the strongmen in a coup? yakoler himself thinks admits an army
-' Rangoon today'
my
putsch is promise.'
tu nlikcly.
word to hold
About cuery ten yedrl, something sensationar happens inTitrkish poritics. Although the general kept his
on the past three
occ,a,sio,ns that something has been a miritary takeouer,
This tine ihong, *oy ,o*i through the r."pressive and restrictive
If ,vou curb someone'.s
hallttt hox. ,ff ,ortt of T::l"t:l:
to curb opposltion campalgnlng drru activities, do you
Tltts:,o.,allcdrottt,d!!!va!likcdbadplayuithasetortrl-rarecast. Somesayit
cast 187 ..i*,i"i. TodaYsmeasures
"'t0", (B) trend'
[?,Yr""::
have failec to
cncourf,qe thcnl?
trrlt'tl ,Lti i/ -r.(d,/,/ Rrr-,rlan ,y!l!!!ll, btt I say history repeats itself _ the jrst time lJ
;;;;;,;,; tr,ui' tt'ot"
rightand
their
as tragedy, thc stond as-fare. orevent the Burmese tronrexercis,ng trom
!l'"i.tir.t ,r,r"ii view Accordinq [o reports was
Itis undear._uthat has happened to tht president, arthough reports from the ,urnout in todav's .-....-...-- tgt
area indirute that it nlt"o""",ih"
..ilt-."a there were no viiible signs of
was a bloodless coup. 'i military
presence on the streets
67
Unit 2 Politics
Rioting and looting

s been Ilted,.the-curfew
remarns in place. Inlormal
journairsrs b,piom;i !1 Missing item. Thc sarne word or expression frorl this
r; ;;;' o r rr", onse,.vJ;r,il;:"?l stctior.r is nrissir-rg from all thesc cxtracts.What is it?
strong support for the on,
t o n N a t io n ai
r",. D. - ; :i;;
;h J S'; #f
:.'l general.
I
L e a"s u e

Auns ian
s,.ru Kyi, .r"rg';,i,-, ..,_
r"L,ilflt^"lv
rrrdm opposition leadeis Pcople undcr, or in, occrsions nright rckindlc the anti-governncn! that cnded n'ith thc violcrr.lgcvernment crack-
all under AetJntion are
dctention arc in p n
A total of 93 parties or under house ai.ist. -*- 'i'hc sunrmit was callcd to discuss the wave of in the south rvirh chshcs l]etwcen delnonstrators
candrdates rook part
r
than 2,000
in 1Xlr,2oru rvould act more firmly against incidents of . He said that therc'd be a greater visrble presencc
conrendrng for 485 oarlirms;lii,
ttectron results for fiano. : B
rll considercd to be at the root of thc violent
ru;ui; j,l *lTil,#.,J n#::jil.I:"
. [n the predominantly black working-class London

"
fj The tally is anorher
the economy; it became morc tolcrant oflabour , allowing denands for big wagc rises; and it
word for the c
pou,crs of the province in an effort to quash the . Explaining his decision to resign as Prime

Did the police over-react? And is sociai simmering just below the surface?

'W'hcre
opposition to a regime is widespread, there
rnay be periods of civil or social unrest with
protests or demonstrations: groups ofprotesters
demonstrators marching through'the rir..t, p.rhrf,
and Rioting and looting
srlcntiy, or perhaps chanring. or rhyrhmicalli Ifthere are vioient confrontations or clashes with the security
shouting, slogans. forces, the policc and / or arrny, they may try to break up the
demonstration with:

watail batons, short heavy sticks used to beat people back in a baton
charge,
rubb'6r
rubber bullets: bullets made ofrubber designcd to hurt
demonstrators,
Mugabe is taking no dtances. wth the. threats of industrial water cannon: machines that produce high-powered jets of water,
and sociar unrest rcar, new water
cannon arul riot gear haue been orderedfor the and tear gas: an unpleasant gas that causes irritation to the eyes
pilice.
and skin and forces people to go elsewherc, or disperse.
sta.r.jl e ntourdge uere said to be shocked that
lhe they had arriued in the we* African ountry in
the middle oJ a-period of ciu, uyest, with.student
groups trying to ouerthrcw the gouemffient. Aviolent demonstration nray turn into . riot with fighting,
MrJone s said he did notEiou how the plans;t'or tTte i -;:,:.- :r stone-throwing, damage to vehicles and ouildings and so on.
,ro*i,lrg o] z Return to i;frica; ,,iir,r" *"Aa not :a
be a-ff'ectcd. :t,:
Rioting may be accompanied b,v iooting: brcaking into shops or
notlng I I .
houses during a riot to steal things.
In Ronania' a relatit'ely quiet day demonsjrat!on eruptetr into noisy protest by hundreds looting:.. .:
,of oJ
eople ant i ng dnt i -.qo L,efttmc nt The government rnay impose a curfew, a period at nrght rvhen
4O1r;e;n-ar t\
p c h
s {Jnirters it y Squ are.
curfew people must stal,indoors alcl keep offthe strccts. Thcy rnay also
declarc a state of ernergencl,, s.hcrc' norrnal larvs arc suspe ncled
state of and rnartial Iau' iir.rposed.
emergency
a T.AIIGUAGEnoTE
The plural of water cannon can be watcr cannon or water
cannons. All these forms can le spclt rvith hyphcns.

69
 Unit 2 Politics Repressive measurcs

Algeria\ milrtary-barked rulers detlartd a state tlfentrlcncy last nigltt. thc ntttuc.litllotued tu,o
There have been viorent crashes between porice
daysofJtghting bctwctn stctrity.fortrs attd MoslemJundamt:ntalists. All publir denrLtnstrutrons art and demonstrators
banned and u,ide-ra.qin! pou'trs arc tuun likcly to bc used.to rlosc m()squcs.
in the South African city of Johannesburg.
A crowd of about 1,000
gathered for a protest march which had
ln tlrc Nepaksc tapital Katltnmndtt, a hu.qt pthlit nrcLtin! dcmdnding imilrcdidte pdrty-basad been declared iJt$al..
electittni despila ont rkL'h lretueen riiit policc antl demotlstrutors. Tear-gas u,as
ii totrtituting There have been more anti governmdnt
-fircd demonstrationJOii students
and riot police used balttrs to beat bath tuo lroups of demonstrators utho scened intent on heading and dissidents jn South Korea despite a warnlng
by the government
touards thc 1:alarc o.f King Bircndra. that it would act immediately and decisively
to ciush protests,
I satu the police using, frst ofall, tear gas and a water cannon and later rubber bullets to try to The Justice Minister Mr Lee Jong Nam earlier
l:reak u? the demonstratiotr. said the authorities
would no longer hesitate to send in police to university
campuses to
A ru|ew ltas been imposed in the Nicaraguan coastal town of Puerto cabezas after widespread disperse illegal demonstrations. He accused
students of fanning
rioting and lootitrg broke out onThursday. Police and anny units are patrclling the streets to social unrest.
prew nt _further uiolence.

22 Familiar scenarios. Put these sections from two BBC

reports into the correct order for each report. (One
report consists of two parts and the other of four. The Repiessive measures
first parts ofeach are d and e respectively)
Opponents to undemocratic regin.res are dissidents.
Autocratic governments accuse oPponents of sedition
and subversion and may try to ruthlessly stop
clampdown 26fi' 126 [
or crush opposition by various means in s
clampdowli or crackdown. This repression may crackdown 26 Il, 126 JJ
VIOTENT I}EM()NSTBATI()N IN JOHAN}JESBURG involve human rights abuses such as censorship' censorship 26 1l
house arrest, imprisonment without trial and torture.
YI()TENT DEilTONSTRATIONS IN K()REA Some regimes use death squads or hit squads,
groups ofprofessional assassins. perhaps from the
a protesting against President RohTae-Woos
The demonstrators are-p!'o"tutil army or police, to murder opponents.
newly formed Liberai eirty wfricrr they have announced
Opponents may be ordered to leave the country, or
aSdictatorialandundemocratic.Agroupofabout50Workershas
at Ulsan' exiled. Others may themselves choose to ieave in
largest shipyard
come down from a crane at South Koreas self-imposed exile.
which brought work there to a
unJing a thirtee day protest
I

standstill. .

the police opened {ire with

b When they ignored an order to disperse' . IAI{GUAEEIIOIE
replied with stones and
plastic Oulteis, and the demonstrators ' The adjcctive correspolrdin{ to rePression is repressive'
iniured' some of them seriously
bottles At least 20 people were
2000 students in the
c Rlot police {Lred tear gas to disperse about
and stones Other A _iew braw magazines continue to take the gotetfinttttt it) a;.k. --{ lsli' 6,,11'9 [,11t' ycts lawyer /4 /
caprtal, Seoul, who w:ere throwing firebombs
.{J

in Seoul' and in at least to-ntinue to repisent the imprisoned dissitients, and to s1,tah ai-htnart righrs a'ttuse s. imprisoned /49
clashes took place on university campuses iJ

lwo other cttLes

Four other men who had been detainetl were charged with sed:iiotl allryedly a'imed at
detain 738 ll
pracuring the oterthrow oJ the gotttrrment, and also ,:h.ar'1es o-l' po::essitqq bant;:d charye 140 !\
literature.

70 71
 Llnit 2 Politics
Crossu,ord

The gouet.nntent has droppetl rhargts dldinst thirteen students who were arresttd and arrest /Jg
arcusedoJ'subrrsion a[ter publishing a doatnent critical oJ government policy.
ll Grossword

An opposition leader has cloinrd thar the atuntri's'president has flo ifitefltion ofmouing au,ay
Jrom ottc party rtrlc attd is yrcp1y11ry!6r a political rlampdown.

AJier the massatres, utidesprcail rgpfssio! antl military cratkdutun in the country two yedrs ago,
most uestern rcilnties u.rspcnded aid and strongly criticiiid ix-iulers.

Protests haue been called later t-otlay by human rights groups antl relatiues of g,ooo people
who
disappeared during the waue ofrepression knou,n as the dirty war.

At the start o;f the ciuil war, when thousandsoJ ciuilians were killed by military and rightist death
sq!.tads, he went exilefonning an ex-ile u,ith lefti* rebels. The exiie endedihr* yr'o^ aco
.into
when Ungo and other Sodal DemocralTiiders returned to try to stimulate a negotiated
settiement
to El Saluador's ciuil war.

"twoJotmer policemen who say they were members of hit squads which murilereil anri-apartheid
canrpaigners.

Karama.nlis k the architect of modern creete. He returned home in rg74 after rr years of serJ-
imposed exile to pick. up the pieces after the collapse of the seuen-yea'r *ilitory "
,$i*r. -
23 Forms of exile. Complete the words below
describing the types oTexile given in these definitions. Across Down
i Vote-catching activity (r4) z What a rioter does when stealing
Exile that is: something (J)
4 No one killed in this coup (9)
I not temporary 7 See r3 down 3 What ajunta, dictatorship or ruling
2 not in a foreign country party does (7)
o Where British politicians stand,
3 self-imposed Americans do this (3) 5 A miiitary takeover, not neccssarily in
aFrench-speaking country. is a coup
4 not self-imposed (three words) r Concealment of wrongdoing leading
G'+)
to a gate (j-2)
6 This group may form its own
a
r_1_ 1l_r v 4 A partyt PR selection ofcandidates (4)
party (8)
b !-rs _d 5 A low turnout means a high rate of
this (ro)
8 -Rival groups rvithin a party (B)

nf 9 Political dirt made to stick (j)

C
re-g 6 Candidates stand on this box and
IO
'What.demonstrations may degeneratc
speak from it (4)
d P-Iry r_1! into (7)
C
_!l_ r1_1 I2 There are t\\,o typcs of these, but onh'
one changes governmcnts (5)
f _lr_ I lr-ry r3 and 7 across Expcrt in darnagc
limitation and imagc ilnprovcment
(+, to)

72
73