Slippery Slopes of Democracy.

 This article was initially written for an openDemocracy competition asking for my vision of the world post Covid-19 (however difficult this may be to actually envision at the moment). As you can imagine, I took my entry down a political route. Thanks to all those who voted for me at the time, and stay safe!

Slippery slopes of democracy.

It can take the most tragic of circumstances to bring people together, to establish a communitarian spirit otherwise suppressed in times of peace. War and murder used to be what did the trick but now, a global pandemic can count itself part of this most infamous of clubs. However, in many parts of the world, these liberties and freedoms which can build such spirit, will continue to be repressed long after this pandemic, as governments have sought to assert themselves over their electorates – bypassing democratic norms and offering a vision of a world growing progressively more regressive and illiberal – with states of emergency the route one carte blanche.

States of emergency allow governments to act beyond their elected brief and make them less accountable to both the public, and the legislature. In Hungary, where Prime Minister Orban had already pushed through constitutional reforms cementing his power and undermining judicial independence, the state of emergency passed by his sweeping majority in parliament was indefinite in length. Even upon its eventual repeal, Orban and his cronies have the power to bypass parliament altogether in the event of future ‘emergencies’ arising. With media also under government control, the electorate are largely oblivious to opposition dissent and this growing centralisation of authority.

But other countries are more subtle. In the UK, we have seen a rapid centralisation of powers towards the government, at the expense of Parliament, with policy surrounding lockdown being put into effect before it receives precious royal assent. The government has even been rebuked by the notionally impartial Speaker for not announcing legislation in Parliament, resorting instead to the bizarre spectacle of daily Downing Street briefings. The announcement that these briefings will resume in the Autumn, whilst Whitehall’s overall media unit will shrink, presents a façade of accountability that goes beyond the norms of political spin we have become accustomed to (vis-a-vis Ingham, Campbell or Coulson). Journalists will be less able to hold the government directly to account, instead reduced to reporting on the soundbites repeated in front of the cameras.

Irrespective of how successfully respective governments have managed the coronavirus, there is an unquestionably global challenge in economic recovery. Where ‘furlough’ schemes have been introduced, national debt as a percentage of GDP has dramatically increased, ringing alarm bells for most economists around the world. However, don’t bet on austerity being the sentence for such crimes of budget balancing. Not in Britain anyway.

Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party was beset by intense infighting and unwavering anti-Semitism allegations. But it also created a mainstream anti-austerity narrative against measures that the country has endured – increasingly reluctantly - for much of the past decade, perhaps justifying a partial Labour comeback in 2017 before the Brexit process unravelled and literally tore the party apart. This has been echoed elsewhere, including the US where presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden has formed economic policy committees with Bernie Sanders’ advisors in an effort to unite the ’blue vote’ into defeating Donald Trump. This may turn out to be a merely symbolic gesture, but it reflects far broader economic thinking. Rishi Sunak’s budget-lite this month, appears to have left deficit hawks within the Tory party unusually silenced. Instead, Keynesian stimulus packages are in, along with a slashing of VAT where business income is needed most. The irony - that this is the same party of George Osborne’s ‘belt-tightening’ initiatives - is almost palpable… 

Going forward, resurgent chauvinistic nationalism - initially given oxygen following the financial crises of 2008 – has had its flames fanned by COVID-19. Many governments have had a popularity boost during this pandemic, though this is only temporary, and can be easily eradicated, as the opticians of Barnard Castle may be able to testify. The European project has been damaged, firstly with Schengen members unilaterally closing their borders, and secondly with a slow response to the pandemic leaving many Southern members (already Eurosceptic in outlook) bemoaning the lack of support they have received. I can see the ‘Corona-bonds’ issued by the European Central Bank becoming a contentious electoral issue in both Germany and Italy, due elections in the next two years. The former will mark the end of an era as the ‘Iron Frau’ Angela Merkel will step down as Chancellor, and it will leave many wondering who will succeed her as the leader of the Free World, in the face of American nativism. Perhaps Joe Biden, the 77-year-old accused of sexual assault can defeat the incumbent 74-year-old also accused of rape and sexual assault, but few would consider this visionary. One wonders if democracy itself is also becoming a tragedy.