Articles from Canada and the World Backgrounder (March 1, 2006)

Title	Author	Type	Words
A tarnished image.			2640
Balancing ballots: until the recent string of minority parliaments, Canada had majority governments that controlled 100 percent of the power while capturing less than half the popular vote in elections.			2404
Bureaucratic fog: the machinery of government is so complex that very few people can navigate their way through with clarity.			2943
Follow the leader: over the past few decades Parliament has become less and less relevant as power has been concentrated in the Prime Minister's Office.			3129
It's showtime.			386
Quote ... unquote.			330
Speaking truth to power: the line between the public service and politics is a fine, and sometimes, faint one. Some politicians cross that line and ask civil servants to take some action that is clearly political in nature. That's when bureaucrats face the difficult choice between letting it go or saying forcefully, "No, Minister".			1553
Win some, lose some: while many countries are moving toward more democratic systems, others cling to authoritarian rule.			1382