Machine politics

One often cited cause for some people to turn their backs to politics and politicians is that politicians are mainly concerned about their own careers, their status within their party, coalitions and other alliances which they might form with others, and so on. In the Flemish press this type of inward-looking politics is often referred to pejoratively as "politique politicienne". In the recent reports on last week's upheaval surrounding Tony Blair's departure date as Prime Minister, the term used was machine politics, a term which, according to Wikipedia, has a somewhat more specific content and a rich history in the US.