The new ruling class did not seek approval from Tbilisi's intelligentsia, which had become enormously powerful in the late Soviet period.

ECONOMIST: Georgia

Public apathy combined with the conceit of the new ruling class, to deliver a particularly brutal humiliation to Rafsanjani, barred apparently not for his political views, but for the rather less dignified reason that the members of the Guardian Council thought Rafsanjani too old to be able to bear the burden of office.

CNN: Story highlights

Consequently the FARC has lost significant support abroad, even in Europe's socialist ruling class, which recently came out in favor of President Pastrana's new military campaign.

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