RULE 1: Keep your winning coalition as small as possible. A small coalition allows a leader to rely on very few people to stay in power. Fewer essentials equals more control and contributes to more discretion over expenditures. Bravo for Kim Jong-Un of North Korea. He is a contemporary master at ensuring dependence on a small coalition. Bravo to Donald Trump. He tried to shrink the coalition by manipulating vote counting in the world’s oldest democracy. That’s not an easy thing to do.
