The complexities of the principal-agent relationship at the core of the standard account are well recognized (Pitkin 1967). The translation of votes into representation, for example, is mediated by varying electoral systems with more or less exclusionary characteristics. Parties, interest groups, and corporatist organizations set agendas, while public spheres, civil society advocacy, and the media form preferences and mold public opinion, as do debate and leadership within legislative bodies themselves (Habermas 1989). In addition, the principal-agent relationship between voters and representatives is notoriously difficult to maintain, for numerous reasons ranging from information deficits to the corruption of representative relationships (Bobbio 1987, Gargarella 1998).