Churchill’s maxim that “democracy is the worst form of government – except for all the others that have been tried” is being severely tested. The quality of politicians, populism, the rise of social media, fake news, the 24-hour news cycle are all testing its ability to deliver. Those in public life more cynically than ever before, sometimes in desperation, attempt to manipulate the electorate in the face of such headwinds whilst voters, in turn, are more cynical about politicians, their believability and ability to produce results. Polls suggest the public is losing patience.

Democracy facing almost overwhelming headwinds

Let’s take each one in turn. The quality of politicians in most democracies is generally deteriorating. The price paid for public service is seen as too high as 24- hour media scrutiny, online abuse, and a general lack of respect for those in authority take their toll. I was a Conservative Party parliamentary candidates’ list assessor for nine years up to 2019, and the fall in quality of applicants was palpable. The best are eschewing politics for a career elsewhere. Many on the list are simply glorified local councillors. Local knowledge on day one and a fanatical ability to deliver leaflets and canvass are seen as superior to raw talent. That is before one takes into consideration the quality of recent Prime Ministers at the top of the political tree…

In America, before the rise of Kamala Harris, the choice of presidential candidate, aided by the obscene amounts of money needed to participate, was awful and probably not that great now. But why is a narcissist with declining cognitive abilities still leading the Republicans? Desperate.

This fall in the quality of those seeking a role in public life is repeated across countries and is exacerbated by past and current populist candidates such as Trump, Johnson, Farage, Bolsonaro, Berlusconi, Marine Le Pen, Orban, Modi to name but a few. Mostly (perhaps not the latter two) incompetent and caring little for their electorate, they have risen on the back of over-promising mainstream politicians failing to deliver relative to expectations.

Then social media. The abuse is awful and sometimes aired by leaders who should know better. Trump recently implied online that Kamala Harris was the beneficiary of oral sex. Incredible. Conspiracy theories such as QAnon (the world is run by satanic child molesters) abound. They have always existed, but the oxygen of publicity that the internet provides is like pouring petrol on flames. Who wants to steer a path through democratic politics in this maelstrom? This dovetails into fake news with doctored videos, photos, voice recordings, further adding pressure.

Lastly, the 24 hour news cycle. Hounded by social media, mainstream outlets harry politicians constantly in order to keep up. Politicians are expected to respond to events immediately, know everything about every topic in interviews and account for the smallest flaws. Achievements go unrecognised as journalists focus on publicising every misstep in the name of ‘news’. Thoughtful, longer-term political discourse on complex issues has become an unnecessary luxury in a world of fragmented, short-term focused communication channels set on instant voter gratification.

Authoritarians suppress debate, control social media, and brutally remove opponents. Democracy in contrast, is a system of checks and balances overwhelmed by the pressures listed above. Those pressures are undermining its very existence and are becoming a price too heavy to bear.