Look up Stalking horse in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

A stalking horse is someone or something whose role is to become the focal point for, or the initiator of, a debate or challenge. In reality, however, their leadership role may be an illusion, and the stalking horse is really working to promote a challenge or debate that will benefit a third party whose identity remains a secret. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary is a Wikimedia Foundation project intended to be a free wiki dictionary (hence: Wiktionary) (including thesaurus and lexicon) in every language. ...

The phenomenon occurs particularly in politics, where a junior politician acts as the stalking horse to promote the interests of a senior politician who remains unseen in case the actions would damage him or her but nevertheless wants to provoke a debate or challenge to a party colleague. In some cases stalking horses are not working for a particular individual but may wish to provoke a response that leads others to join in. In politics, the truth about the relationship between an individual stalking horse and a candidate may never be known, as both sides may claim that the (alleged) stalking horse acted without the agreement of anyone else. Politics, sometimes defined as the art and science of government[1], is a process by which collective decisions are made within groups. ...

In some cases, a single lead candidate, though desiring to benefit from a crisis, may be described as a stalking horse. A classic example was Sir Anthony Meyer, who challenged and brought about the eventual defeat of Margaret Thatcher in the Conservative Party leadership. Although Meyer's initial bid failed (as expected), it brought the issue out of the closet and to the table. Following this, Michael Heseltine (a senior political figure at the time) put his own name up for the leadership in a further ballot, although he eventually lost to Thatcher's heir-apparent, John Major. As with Meyer, stalking horses rarely win the position of leader themselves, but provide the means for others to show their feelings, and leave the issue open for someone else to step in once the "lay of the land" is clearer. Leading politicians seeking political power rarely take on the role of stalking horse themselves, usually preferring to allow some third party to trigger the staged crisis, they themselves then suggesting they are entering the debate or the election because it is occurring, not because they caused it to occur. Sir Anthony John Charles Meyer, 3rd Baronet, (October 27, 1920 – December 24, 2004) was a British soldier, diplomat, and Conservative Party politician, best known for standing against Margaret Thatcher for the party leadership in 1989. ... Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990. ... The Conservative Party is one of the two largest political parties in the United Kingdom and the most successful party in political history based on election victories. ... Michael Heseltine walks out of the cabinet meeting having resigned, January 9, 1986 The Right Honourable Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, CH, PC (born 21 March 1933), is a British Conservative politician and businessman. ... Sir John Major, KG, CH (born 29 March 1943) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1990 - 1997. ...

A further example occurred in the Republic of Ireland in 1992, involving former Fianna Fáil minister Sean Doherty, who had once been engulfed in a scandal over the revelation that as Minister for Justice he sanctioned the tapping of two journalists' telephones. At the time of the scandal in 1982, Doherty claimed that then party leader Charles Haughey played no part in the tapping of the telephones. In 1992 however he changed his story and insisted that Haughey had been an active participant. In the resulting furore, Haughey, who was taoiseach, was forced to resign and was replaced by former Minister Albert Reynolds. Media critics regarded Doherty as a stalking horse for Reynolds though both men denied any involvement in what the media alleged was a "staged crisis," Doherty insisting that he acted alone in provoking the crisis, without having consulted Reynolds, much less acted for him. 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... Fianna Fáil - The Republican Party (IPA ; English translation: Soldiers of Ireland, but traditionally translated as Soldiers of Destiny) is the largest political party in Ireland. ... Seán Doherty (born August 29, 1944), is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. ... The Minister for Justice is the head of the Scottish Executive Justice Department and is a cabinet position in the devolved Government of Scotland. ... Telephone tapping or Wire tapping/ Wiretapping (in US) describes the monitoring of telephone conversations by a third party, often by covert means. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Charles Haughey (Irish name Cathal Ó hEochaidh; born on September 16, 1925), was the sixth Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland, serving three terms in office; 1979 to 1981, March 1982 to December 1982 and 1987 to 1992. ... The Taoiseach (plural: Taoisigh) or, more formally, An Taoiseach, is the head of government of the Republic of Ireland and the leader of the Irish cabinet. ... Albert Reynolds (born November 3, 1932), was the eighth Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland, serving one term in office from 1992 until 1994. ...

A more recent example of a stalking horse (though likely without prior coordination) can be seen in the example of the 2003 California recall. Dissatisfaction with then-Governor Gray Davis led U.S. Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA) to mount a recall campaign to oust Davis, using much of his own money. Issa managed to force the issue into a two-point referendum. The first point was on whether or not to replace Davis. The second point would have been to select a successor. Issa ran on the second point, and then several other candidates, one of whom was actor/bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger, entered the fray. Schwarzenegger's success in gaining traction on all other contendors led Issa to back out of the race. The 2003 California recall was a special election permitted under California law. ... HI A governor is also, a monkey who is smart and can fly like a penguin is a device that regulates the speed of a machine. ... Joseph Graham Davis Jr. ... The House of Representatives is the larger of two houses that make up the U.S. Congress, the other being the United States Senate. ... Darrell E. Issa (pronounced Eye-suh) (born November 1, 1953) is an American politician and former CEO of a consumer electronics company. ... The Republican Party, often called the GOP (for Grand Old Party, although one early citation described it as the Gallant Old Party) [1], is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq. ... A recall election is a procedure by which voters can remove an elected official from office. ... A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite (from Latin plebiscita, a decree of the Concilium Plebis) is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... Bodybuilder Anders Graneheim (Sweden) Bodybuilding is the sport of developing muscle fibers through the combination of weight training, increased caloric intake, and rest. ... Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian-American bodybuilder, actor, and Republican politician, currently serving as the 38th Governor of California. ...

Origin of the term

The term stalking horse originally derived from the practice of hunting, particularly of wildfowl. Hunters noticed that many birds would flee immediately on the approach of humans, but would tolerate the close presence of animals such as horses and cattle. A hunter on horseback shoots at deer or elk with a bow. ... Falcated Duck at Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands centre, Gloucestershire, England Wildfowl or waterfowl, also waterbirds, is the collective term for the approximately 147 species of swans, geese and ducks, classified in the order Anseriformes, family Anatidae. ... Orders Many - see section below. ... Binomial name Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 nugget For other uses, see Horse (disambiguation). ... Binomial name Bos taurus Linnaeus, 1758 Cattle (called cows in vernacular usage, kine archaic, or ky as the Scots plural of coo) are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. ...

Hunters would therefore slowly approach their quarry by walking alongside their horses, keeping their upper bodies out of sight until the flock was within firing range. Animals trained for this purpose were called stalking horses.