The purging of Bo Xilai, until recently the popular party chief of Chongqing, makes for riveting drama. The Communist party, hoping to engineer a smooth, once-in-a-decade leadership transition, has been forced to air its filthy laundry in public. One of its rising stars, a “princeling” seemingly destined to become a member of the nine-member standing committee, is blamed for serious, unspecified, breaches of party discipline. His wife stands accused of murder.

This is deeply embarrassing for a party that likes to project an image of unity and probity. It is possible that the Communist party leadership will see it as a victory. It has, after all, neutralised a popular politician who sought legitimacy not through party organs but by appealing directly to the public. For an organisation that thrives on discipline and the myth of infallibility that was dangerous indeed.

Yet the very public purge is deeply problematic. If Mr Bo had merely been a dangerous outlier, the leadership could have quietly sidelined him by not selecting him for the standing committee next autumn. That they felt obliged to remove him so publicly suggests a deep schism at the very top.