The Quality Factors in Politics
Internal Democracy 

Ability to involve as many members as possible, directly or indirectly, in the government of the party.

This factor is closely related to other factors (representativeness, visibility, information) and finds full application only when these other factors are also satisfied.

I also considered this in the second part of this work. to externalize some considerations on concept of democracy, at this point it is enough to remember that a true internal democracy is obtained if, by appropriately dosing the representativeness of the executive and secretarial bodies, one allows all members to participate in the government of the party. Only in these cases there is, as Aristotle said, "a government of the many", otherwise there is the risk of having an oligarchic government in which few manage the party in the name of all the others. In reality, in some cases it may even happen that a party structure is managed with methods and techniques that suggest what Aristotle called "the government of one", that is, a monarchy.

Obviously, in governing a party, it is necessary to take into account the need to act quickly on the part of the manager who is at the head of a party structure, but this cannot be an excuse for not systematically involving the other bodies in decisions (secretariat, management and same party base). From time to time it is necessary to find the right compromise between speed of action and democratic involvement of all the organs that make up the party, and in any case when timeliness demands lead to non-collegial decisions, it is right that those who take them, subsequently report appropriately to the other organs.

Involving the various bodies that make up the party in a democratic way is not only a sign of democracy but also favors effective participation. In fact, when organisms are reduced to mere passive instruments of ratification of decisions taken elsewhere, some members have the sensation of being mere extras and therefore easy prey to demotivation. 

A truly democratic party should never allow a small group, perhaps self-elected, to decide in the name of the other members. Any document or press release made in the name of the party should be approved by the body in charge unless explicitly delegated on specific topics to the representative of the body concerned. Each member must have the right to express their opinions even if they are different from the majority that is formed in the various party organs.

It is necessary to identify a mechanism so that this last sentence is not a mere statement of principle. This mechanism should also ensure respect for and protection of internal minorities. The higher the ability of an organization to respect internal minorities, the higher the message of democracy it transmits to the outside world.

The distribution of offices should avoid centralization on a few people and in any case guarantee respect for internal pluralism and therefore for internal minorities.   

POSSIBLE INDICATORS OF THE INTERNAL DEMOCRACY FACTOR

• Distribution of offices based on rules that take into account the different cultural and political components within the organisms.
• Assemblies or meetings aimed at members where it is possible to speak and make proposals, collection and open discussion of such proposals and number of concrete initiatives taken following the proposals presented and considered valid by the majority.
• No. of significant decisions taken within the various party bodies in charge out of the total number of decisions taken.
• No. of significant decisions taken with the consent of the subscriber base out of the total number of decisions taken.
• Indication of candidates subject to (real) approval of the membership base.
• No. of candidates presented directly by the base  
• Turn over in assignments.
• Minutes of the sessions that produce significant documents.

Indicators (in negative) that could identify a low level of internal democracy

• Members or exponents at any level marginalized or expelled as a result of their critical interventions or not in line with the party leaders
• No. of candidates out of the total of the same "dropped from above"
• N. Political decisions taken without sharing the base or the bodies in charge of the total of political decisions 

Also look at the reflection: On the concept of politics

Do you have other indicators to propose?

report them in the comments area below or through the fb group: "The politics of Kaizen"