Sunday, September 29, 2019

Democracy Is Alive and Kicking



The last few years have given Democracy a rough ride. But last week, Robin Sears writes, we learned that Democracy is not down for the count:

Early on Tuesday, by an unanimous 11-0 decision the United Kingdom Supreme Court smacked down Prime Minister Boris Johnson, declaring in the most searing language that he had broken the law, and by implication had lied to the Queen, about his motives for seeking an unheard of one month and one-week long suspension of Parliament — on the very brink of the most momentous decision it will make in this century.
In the chilling understated tones that only a certain kind of Brit can muster, Chief Justice Lord Hale, dubbed Boris Johnson a fraud. With painfully slow and brittle enunciation, she devastated the reputation of the prime minister as a foolish grifter. It was an unprecedented finding, not seen, as Justice Hale said, since the 17th century.
Her decision meant the prorogation had never happened and MPs went back to work the next day pummelling the embattled prime minister. It was their collective declaration of the supremacy of Parliament, abetted by their ferocious and funny speaker, John Bercow, that had provoked Boris into trying the shutdown ploy.

And, twelve hours later, Nancy Pelosi informed Donald Trump that he faced impeachment. She declared that:

Trump had abused his office, broken the law, and announced the launch of formal impeachment proceedings against him.
It is only the third time in U.S. history this has taken place, as Nixon resigned before he could be impeached. But like Nixon, this president seems destined to fall on his attempted coverup of a hilariously inept attempt to find dirt on his opponent. Like someone who had watched “The Godfather” once too often, Trump had growled to the Ukrainian president he had better “make up dirt on Biden” — or else.
These two explosions were not bad for a day’s work by institutions — the courts and the legislature — that were said to be crumbling. They demonstrated their resilience and that they remain the bulwark of democracy on each side of the Atlantic.

These are still dark days. Both Johnson and Trump have a truly stunning list of enablers. Nonetheless, there are several lessons that everyone -- particularly Canadians -- should take to heart:

First, is that the executive branch of government is not all-powerful, if government and opposition MPs are willing to assert their authority. If we have a minority government after Oct. 21, the members, new and old, might want to consider how they can quickly establish their sovereignty, similar to the astonishing revolt by the U.K. backbench.
A second lesson, especially for our politicians, is: Think twice before trying to rope judges into your partisan agenda — you might get badly bitten. The scrofulous trickster who is using taxpayer millions and the official public inquiry system in his province to blacken his opponents, has also gathered a group of credulous premiers to support his attempt to bring our Supreme Court into his climate denial cabal.
His lawyers should have pointed out the fate of these kinds of legal charades. Our Supremes will once again assert the right of the Government of Canada to govern on issues of national importance, especially ones of national security, like the climate crisis.

What does all this mean for Johnson and Trump? Both men may be headed for the exits -- much sooner than they or their enablers ever imagined.

Image: theatlantic.com


6 comments:

Rural said...

There may be a small (very small) glimmer of hope for democracy in GB and the US but the slide to authoritarianism is going to take much more from us all to stop the largely right wing attacks upon it. As the writer says we are not immune from the disdain that some politicians and their supporters show for democratic decision making here in Ontario and across Canada. A minority government will require cooperation and compromise but I am afraid most of our 'leaders' know not what those words mean Owen.

the salamander said...

.. enablers and sycophants.. are like rats on a worm eaten scow
They know where the mooring ropes, lifeboats or anchor chains are
and they can dive and swim like champs

Owen Gray said...

We have elected leaders who are obsessed with getting their own way, Rural. More importantly, they have conflated their way with the public good. Things will only improve when those we elect stop asserting -- with Louis XIV -- that "L'etat c'est moi."

Owen Gray said...

And they will do just that, sal, when the tide turns against them.

Anonymous said...

Democracy is plainly under attack by the right-wing, and has been for many years. At its root, conservatism has always been anti-democratic as it prioritizes the interests of the wealthy over those of the general public. We see this most starkly in the US, where conservatives actively disenfranchise voters through gerrymandering, voter purges, voting restrictions, polling station shortages and barring felons from voting.

The courts in the UK and Canada have indeed sometimes pushed back against this rising anti-democratic tide. Which is why conservatives and neoliberals like Trudeau insist on trade agreements that include investor-state provisions to ensure that businesses can sue and restrain the actions of governments without judicial review. Americans just stack the Supreme Court with reactionary judges, 2/5ths of whom have a history of sexual assault and harassment that should disqualify them from even sitting in traffic court, see e.g. Thomas, Clarence and Cavanagh, Brett.

This anti-democratic project is supported by the corporate media that can't even get basic facts straight, such as the fact that the Chief Justice of the UKSC is Lady Hale, not Lord Hale!

Cap

Owen Gray said...

The courts have put the brakes on some of the conservative juggernaut, Cap. But, as rising inequality suggests, modern conservatism has been quite successful at shifting the conventional wisdom their way.