I think puppet might be exactly the right term.
I've been watching our Aussie pollies since I was a kid.
You get a sense of their character and values while they're still back bench representatives,
an idea of the things that really matter to them.
But once they get into the top job, or just leader of the opposition,
suddenly they are constrained by needing to keep an entire party of competing factions working together.
Their personal goals get subsumed.
The publicity people groom them on how to dissemble in interviews,
how to give the longest replies to questions
so there will be less queries in the time available,
how to put the best spin on debacles,
how to sell an unpopular policy,
how to lie skillfully,
how to avoid the risks of spontaneity...
And we learn to read between the lines.
if you get a chance, please watch from 2:10 to 3:10 in the video posted on this question.
OK. I get your point that it's the big private money concerns that control the world, and politics.
I've been aware of this for some time, but recently I bought a textbook by a Princeton economist which examines the extent to which governments accept the influence of the affluent. It proved that the notion of democracy is a euphemism only - a little more sinister than plain old humbug because we're supposed to believe the illusion that we have a say in how our countries are ruled. We let the real power slip from our fingers when we stopped paying attention and thinking (if we ever did.)
Many people do have the illusion that governments control cash flow and inflation - that became impossible as soon as deregulation occurred. Anyone who blames the economy on who's in power doesn't understand the way the game is played - except it's not a game.
The only way to change it would be to reintroduce regulation - probably slowly, and ramp it up by small notches. But that wouldn't entirely solve it. The first thing is that currency must be tied to real capital, something of necessary material utility. The second is to get rid of compound interest and ensure all loans have a means of collateral. Or even better, replace usury with hire purchase.
