I prefer the Jimmy Wales version of authority. The project operates democratically, but Jimmy always retains the ultimate authority to act as a sovereign at the end of the day because he built it, has the reputation of the project to protect, and it's his legacy. The option to fork the project will always be there if the people want new leadership.

Setting aside the blithe just-fork-it-ism and the insult to the people who actually write the articles... Isn't Wales just one of a dozen people on the Wikimedia Foundation board of trustees now?