<
https://theconversation.com/democracies-are-fragile-australians-must-act-urgently-to-safeguard-ours-188580>
"The solicitor-general’s recent finding that former Prime Minister Scott
Morrison’s furtive accrual of ministerial portfolios “fundamentally undermined”
the principles of responsible government has drawn attention to the precarity
of democracy. In seeking to safeguard our democracy, we must consider the
extent to which Australians’ long-standing apathy about our democratic system
allowed Morrison to treat it with such contempt.
Democracy is under threat around the world. Donald Trump’s autocratic populism
and the attempted coup at the Capitol in January 2021 are familiar to
Australians, but so-called “strongmen” have been white-anting democratic
conventions in countries including the Philippines, Turkey, Hungary, Poland,
Venezuela and Brazil for the past two decades.
Democratic government is a compact between the people and the state. It relies
on robust institutions and an engaged and informed citizenry that holds its
elected representatives to account. Complacency and ignorance provide fertile
ground for populists and autocrats to spread misinformation, undermine
institutions and disregard democratic conventions.
Australians have recently shown enough concern to reject Morrison’s secretive
and misleading government even before the ministries scandal was revealed.
Yet, worryingly, there is plenty of evidence that Australians remain both
apathetic and ignorant about their democracy and its institutional guardrails."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
