This paradox is doubtless largely due to the necessarily amoral, and for some people immoral, side of electoral systems which smacks of “political jiggery-pokery” and unfortunately detracts from the purity of the immortal principles of the sovereignty of the people, the expression of the general will and the legitimacy of the elective authorities. But politics, even democratic politics, is not just about principles. It is also the arena of combat between all those who dream of conquering legitimate power. Law and philosophy weigh in less heavily here than history and sociology, which prompts us to agree with Mosca that when we say that the electorate elects its representatives, we have got things out of perspective: “the truth is that the elected representatives do all they can to be elected by their electorate”. And the choice of a particular electoral system is clearly part of the armoury of any political undertaking wishing to “have its representatives elected” in order that the elected assembly should correspond most closely to its own expectations and interests.