Certain events can be brought into sharp focus by a single number. The election of Joseph Ratzinger as the new head of the Catholic church is one of the stories. The number in question is 2.

That’s the number of electors at the conclave who were not appointed as cardinals by John Paul II. Not much surprise, then, that a close confidant of the late pope would be chosen as his successor. He had the time in office to mold the institution to his liking, and he did.

According to a backgrounder on the Tuesday edition of PBS’s News Hour, the relatively fast speed of the decision can also be attributed to a decision by John Paul II. He changed the conclave rules that had been in place for 800 years. Before you had to get a two-thirds majority to win, period. As of this election, the threshold changes to a simple majority after 12 days of indecision.

The rules lawyers among you can immediately see how to game the system. If you get a simple majority during the early phase of voting, you’ve already won. All you have to do is keep your support together for twelve days and you’ve got the post. Your opponents will see this and capitulate early on.

Was this a design blunder, a change to preclude an unlikely outcome which has the unintended consequence of upending the entire system? A crock, as gamer parlance would have it? The other explanation would be that it’s an undocumented feature meant to accomplish an unspoken goal of the designer. The strategic implications of the new rule reward frontrunners and hamper dark horses and compromise candidates. Although in this instance it resulted in a traditionalist succeeding a traditionalist, it could just as easily ensure that a future reformer be succeeded by a like-minded successor. The rule offers a helping hand to incumbents who want to position a protégé to take over after they’re gone.

John Paul II, crafty designer or lousy playtester? Only time, as they say in the cliché business, will tell.

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