ABSTRACT
Recall the dual nature of the political system (in any liberal-capitalist country): (1) as democratic intermediary between the citizen and the state; and (2) as elitist intermediary between wealth and power. The second aspect, in which politicians defer to the fundamental interests of the economy, requires convergence internally among the major political parties (despite differences of degree) as well as convergence internationally in conformity to European norms and global competition.
