call the tune

He, or she, who wields the gavel calls the tune.

And the Rehnquist court had a broad definition of corruption that encompassed rich donors’ power to “call the tune” for elected officials.

“Corporations have always called the tune ultimately. Everyone pays attention to the guys at the top and always has.”

The question, of course, is how long, even at those companies, the old law will be suspended — that he who pays the piper calls the tune.

Called Demo Le Abbay, meaning "If They Test Us on the Nile" in Amharic, it criticises "Egypt's shamelessness" - implying that the North African nation can no longer call the tune.