The latter had for decades acted largely as a stooge for the party leaders.是什么意思？

The latter had for decades acted largely as a stooge for the party leaders.

后者几十年来大半时间都在为该党领导人当走狗。

the

art. 指已提到的人（物），指说话人与听者已知的人（物），用于独一无二的事物前，与形容词最高级和序数词连用；

例句
He did have a real knowledge of the country...
他对该国的确知之甚多。

latter

adj. 后者的，末了的，较后的；

例句
He compared the achievements of the British and the French during 1916 and concluded that the latter were better all around.
他比较了1916年英国人和法国人的成就，结论是法国人在各方面都做得更好。

had

v. 有（ have的过去式和过去分词 ），（亲属关系中）接受，拿，买到；

例句
He claimed that his parents had abandoned him...
他声称父母遗弃了他。

for

prep. 为，为了，倾向于，关于，当作；conj. 因为，由于；

例句
I've come looking for a bit of advice.
我特来讨教。

decades

n. 十年，十年间( decade的名词复数 )；

例句
For decades the company was the bellwether of the British economy...
几十年来，这家公司一直是英国经济的晴雨表。

acted

link-v. 表演；v. 行动( act的过去式和过去分词 )，做，表演，起作用；

例句
Freed acted with his accustomed shrewdness.
弗里德以他一贯的精明风范行动起来。

largely

adv. 大部分地，主要地，大规模地，丰富地；

例句
...a research programme that has largely failed to achieve its principal aims.
在较大程度上未能实现其主要目标的研究项目

as

adv. 同样地，一样地，例如；prep. 作为，以…的身份，如

例句
As far as I can recall, Patti was a Smith.
我记得帕蒂是姓史密斯的。

stooge

n. 喜剧里的配角或丑角，助手，伙伴；vi. 充当配角；

例句
The charge that Harding was a political stooge may be a canard.
关于哈丁是个政治走狗的指控可能是个谣传。

party

n. 社交聚会，党，党派，当事人，同类，伙伴；v. 为…举行社交聚会，为…请客，参加社交聚会；adj. 政党的，党派的，社交的，聚会的，共有的，共同的；

例句
The Party is being degraded by its acceptance of secret donations...
该党因私下接受捐赠而蒙羞。

leaders

n. 领袖( leader的名词复数 )，（管弦乐队的）首席小提琴手，最佳的人（或物），（在赛跑、商业等活动中）处于领先地位的人（或物）；

例句
...an opportunity for the leaders to become better acquainted.
增进领导人之间相互了解的机会