We moved to the importance of affiliation, the relational connection between individuals or groups. A hight-ranking minister note that politics is replete with the challenges of building connection , allying with one group over another, and avoiding being cast as the scapegoat or outlier.Our discussion focused on recognizing what these officials experienced daily but rarely had opportunity to reflect upon: the impact of political back-stabbing, parry betrayal, and interpersonal rivalries on their affiliation to one another. The topic is a sensitive one, and we approached it at an abstract level. Yet the point hit home. The leaders of two of the coalition's major parties, for example, have a history of political and personal tension. One controls government finance; the other controls a critical coalitional party. Each views the other with strong suspicion, creating a major rift within the coalition. Through our discussion, there two leaders, among others,note a political constraints of adversarial relations on coalitional stability and party success.