In general, it is the people who share the same ideals and the same points of view who get together to create a political party and to integrate their program proposal in the policy. In a plural society, the creation of political parties is free, which means that every body has the right to create a party. In a general rule, political parties have also a core program that reflects its values and its long term objectives, as well as an electoral program, which is rather a short term oriented one.

Because political parties within pluralist societies must face important tasks, it is important that they be organized in a transparent and democratic way. This implies, on the one hand that each citizen can freely and openly integrate a political party; and on the other hand, it must be stipulated that each member has the right and the possibility to participate in the definition of the party line, at the election of the leader of the party and the appointment of candidates to political and state functions. In addition to their role in the articulation of the populations interests, and the building up of its political will, it is also the political parties that put in place the required personnel to the government offices. As they link the people to their representatives, or the representatives of the people to the leaders, parties are as indispensable in the political scenery of a plural society as the interest groups and associations described earlier. 13

2.7 The Government and the Opposition The leadership of a community will fare better if taken on by only one person or a small group, as long as this community is expected to be able to act. You must already have noticed this in your daily life, in a more reduced framework. When one class or working group has to discuss something, the first thing to do is to elect a leader; to put in place and maintain a structure. Without this leader, the debate takes place in a disorderly manner and coming up with results is difficult. If we transpose this image to the case of the State, we can see clearly why it is necessary to have a government.

The government, which is always supported by the parliament or presidential majority party (with or without coalition with the other parties), can only function with an intact and efficient state administration, which enforce the decisions. The administration helps not only in the drawing up of the new laws but also in their enforcement. It is then possible to say that the state power is not taken on by the government alone, but it also calls for the concrete adhesion of the administration to manage a country in a reasonable way. In democracies, the administration is institutional, centred on its personnel and is ideologically non identical to the majority party. It stays permanent, to serve the State, and not the party of the majority, no matter which party holds the majority and supports the regime in power.