More than Britain, though, it has viewed its military strength as an important political counterweight to West Germany's economic might.

And when marine oil spills resulted in stepped-up demands by environmentalists for moratoriums on drilling or production in certain areas, there was little political counterweight.

It met regularly and served as a political and military counterweight to Athens.

At one point President Richard M. Nixon tried to use the families of missing servicemen as a political counterweight to antiwar protests.

He suggested that Washington remained suspicious of the Lavalas movement, with its leftist roots, and saw the military as a valuable political counterweight.

In the absence of a political counterweight to the government's latest moves, Troika Dialog added, "investors cannot be blamed for wondering which company is next."

During the 11th century, some imperial palatine counts became a valuable political counterweight against the mighty duchies.

These broad-based organizations provided a political counterweight to the unpredictable army, profusion of independent political parties, and "enemies" of the Revolution.

I think the real political question is this: will the Intergovernmental Conference succeed in forming a political counterweight to monetary union?

We need to introduce a political counterweight and democratic control.