ABSTRACT
In a democratic polity, no large organization can do without leadership to provide guidance and, conjointly with the members or their delegates, set goals and seek to achieve them. The Social Democratic Party elite at the national, Lander, and local levels ranges from the thousands of unpaid low- and middle-level functionaries holding posts in local branch executives to the prestigious members of the national presidium. Although the thousands of leaders at all levels of the party affect the direction it takes, the elite elected to the presidium and executive in Bonn provides the greatest impetus and initiatives. In a television broadcast in early 1974, as the government faced a number of crises, Helmut Schmidt also assailed Brandt for his “weak” leadership. Elite competition among factions may limit the power of national leaders to govern a party monolithically and may enhance internal democracy.
