Walter Bagehot: “They know, too, that the grand elector, the great chooser of…”

On the record

They know, too, that the grand elector, the great chooser of Ministries, might be, at a sharp crisis, either a good friend or a bad enemy.

Said by

Walter Bagehot

Source

Bagehot reflects on the dual role of the grand elector as either a supportive or adversarial figure during crises.

More from Walter Bagehot

But, above all things, they were frightened of 'the world;' the spectacle of nature filled them with awe and dread.

It is absurd to choose by contested party election an impartial chooser of Ministers.

Savages waste away before modern civilisation; they seem to have held their ground before the ancient.

Nothing promotes intellect like intellectual discussion, and nothing promotes intellectual discussion so much as government by discussion.

Other voices in this conversation

Walter Bagehot: “They know, too, that the grand elector, the great chooser of Ministries, might be, at a sharp crisis, either a good…”