1.   The left wing has lost considerable influence in the party, which is now aggressively courting political moderates.

2.   And the standoff between the Ministry and the large banks seemed to suggest that the Ministry was losing its influence over the banking industry.

3.   Are critics losing their influence?

4.   Alexandre Barros, a Brasilia-based political risk analyst, believes that the strike will fail because Brazilian unions have lost influence in past years.

5.   But both major parties have been losing influence.

6.   But Japanese officials contend that they are already deregulating markets, and they are concerned about losing influence in areas they have dominated for decades.

7.   By contrast, denominations like the Methodists and Presbyterians whose worship reflects the European Protestant tradition, with centuries-old hymns and liturgies, have lost influence.

8.   Cardenas and other leaders of his party seem to have lost the influence over the strikers they once enjoyed.

9.   Compounding the difficulties is the fact that religious conservative groups seem to be losing influence, particularly the Christian Coalition, which has been in turmoil in recent months.

10.   Even in Louisiana, which has had no Republican senators since Reconstruction and only two Republican governors, the Democratic party appears to be losing influence.