ST. LOUIS POLITICS: RELATIONSHIPS AMONG INTERESTS, PARTIES AND GOVERNMENTAL STRUCTURE
In: The Western political quarterly: official journal of Western Political Science Association, Band 13, Heft 2, S. 498-507
ISSN: 0043-4078
St. Louis politics is marked by 2 loose but enduring constellations of interests. One is composed of major `downtown' business interests, various professional groups, & is supported by middle & upper-middle income voters. The other combines labor unions, ward pol'al leaders, Negroes, & other low income voters. These 2 groupings persist, differ in basic values & perspectives, & yet do not provide the basis for 2 competing parties. Rather they operate as factions within the dominant party, whichever party that may be in a given period. The crucial factor seems to be the formal structure of Gov which effectively separates the offices controlling policy decisions from those controlling pol'al perquisites. Each constellation of interests is primarily concerned with one set of offices, &, as a consequence, neither group is forced into full-scale combat with the other, as would be required under a more centralized Gov'al structure. IPSA.