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Modalities of financing political parties’ electoral campaigns and actions are as numerous as they are problematic. There is probably no optimal and perfect system that is completely immune to abuses and excesses. Where there is little doubt, reading the essay by Professor Khayyam Zev Paltiel, is that possibly the worst of all systems is one that fails to regulate mechanisms for financing political action. This leads to practices that are disputed or inconsistent with the rules of the democratic game. In this paper, the author discusses the need for funds to finance party action and examines the sources and conduits through which political parties usually obtain them; he then evaluates various attempts to regulate the issue in different countries of the world, and weighs up the advantages and limitations of public subsidies to political parties. From its extremely broad perspective, illustrated with numerous experiences and comparisons, the paper provides valuable criteria for establishing that the debate on the financing of political action and representation is at the heart of the dilemmas of a democracy.