Democracy is failing not because politicians are rorting and lying and pursuing only what is popular. They've…

Democracy is failing not because politicians are rorting and lying and pursuing only what is popular. They've always done that. /1 #auspol https://t.co/4uoofWcyzn

It's failing because all the checks and balances to control the populist, elected arm of democracy have been sidelined, damaged and/or removed entirely. All of the institutions. The 'bureaucracy'. /2

Because of that the only recourse to outrageous actions, like letting a lethal pandemic virus just run through a community, is 'if you don't like it, vote us out at the next election'. Everything is 'mandated' by popularity, without exception. /3

If you get the votes, the next 3-4 years are yours to do with as you please, without restraint. Policies, expert advice, procedures, laws - all will be bypassed with various loopholes, or even ignored entirely. /4

Modern populist democracies are like schools where the school captains are allowed to run the school. Everybody knows school captains are mostly symbolic, and that large numbers of other people actually keep a school running every day. But we've forgotten that is.../5

*exactly* the designed and expected role of elected politicians too. To symbolically represent the public, but to leave nearly all the running of a country to their (tens of thousands) of expert officials. /6

I know many look on in horror with climate change and Covid, and ask 'how is this inaction allowed'? It isn't allowed. But populism has severed the link between elected leaders and their officials. So again, all that can stop it is more elections, more popularity contests. /7

It doesn't matter who we elect, while that link is severed. The Sir Humphreys of our societies were there to prevent popularity becoming the sole determinant of what gets done. The populists made sure to demonise them as 'bureaucrats', for decades. And here we are. 8/8

@KateEMcCann