Partibyråkrater.

Ödmjuka tjänare eller mäktiga ledare?

Authors

• Jan Sundberg

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to discuss the power and influence of the party staff as compared to the party leadership and the rank-and-file members. Although the size of the party staff has increased during the past 30 years it is still small compared to the number of full-time politicans. However, by including the staff from the ancillary and affiliated organizations and related interest organizations the size and influence grows considerably. The study shows that the staff strongly supports the party leadership, and in some issues the bureaucrats govern with the assistance of the staff from an interest organization. When the leaders and the officials act in concert — as they usually do — the members have very few ways of influencing the party's daily routines.