Old-style political bosses handed out patronage jobs here and there, he says.

他说，旧式政客四处发放恩惠性的职位。

youdao

It used to be that government officials were all picked by political patronage and they, very often, were incompetent.

过去政府官员,通常都是走后门进来的,他们经常都是不称职的。

耶鲁公开课 - 金融市场课程节选

And,in conclusion,the state becomes the new ways that patronage,economic,financial, cultural,political,is dispensed.

总之,国家,变成了施与经济的,金融的,文化的,政治的恩惠的新方法

耶鲁公开课 - 1871年后的法国课程节选

It reinforces a view of Italy as a country in which entrepreneurs need political patronage to succeed.

ECONOMIST: Italian politics

Only indirect subsidies, creative accounting, political patronage and national chest-thumping keep them rolling.

ECONOMIST: High-speed trains

The House of Lords is a living testament to royal bastardy, robber baronry, social exclusion, political patronage and downright cronyism.

BBC: Your views on the Lords