Strange and hilarious stories include the town that elected a dog as mayor, the prime minister who accidentally fired himself, and the mayor who hired a parrot to speak for him at press conferences
The bizarre side of politics is chronicled in this collection of the wackiest tales from the governments and voting booths of the world. In 2000, voters from Missouri elected a dead man as their senator?he had died three weeks before polling day, but he still won by a 2 per cent margin. When the residents of Sunol, California, elected their mayor, they chose a dog over either of the two human candidates. When a Colorado town wanted a name for its new bridge, they decided on "Bob." The least competent politicians, the most outlandish government decisions, and the strangest elections are all uncovered here. Whether it is the mayoral candidate whose twin brother stood in for him or the unsuccessful politician who at last count had lost 103 elections, every tale pushes the boundaries of common assumptions about politics. The theory of democracy is that politicians are elected on some basis of trust that the future lies safe in their hands?but practice often tells a very different story.