ABSTRACT
Having thus far dealt with the more overt forms of the mobilization of power, factional competition, and the nominations process, I focus now on the more covert control of the issue arenas in the Standing Committee and the National Party Conference. I first introduce a clarification of the concept of suppressed issues, which, I will attempt to show, helps to explain important aspects of power relationships and political culture, particularly by revealing coercive aspects of what might otherwise be perceived as genuine consensus. This is followed by a discussion of selected aspects of the political culture of the party, which are then related to the suppression from the agenda of the National Party Conference of two highly salient and controversial issues. In the concluding section of this chapter, certain aspects of the control function of the Standing Committee are discussed. This discussion provides the background for the explanation of ritual behavior in the Standing Committee in the following chapter.
