Much of our focus this week has been on what happens when democracy, or the leaders we elect, let us down.
It is easy to forget when times are good just how delicate, and precious, trust is. Think about it. When you cast your vote, you are not just ticking a box – choosing chicken or beef – you are saying you trust a person or party to make big decisions in your name. You are entering into a deal: if I will do my bit, and you do yours, we will all be better off.
Authors Ronan Sandhu and Kos Samaras reflect on what happens when one side fails to honour the deal. In India, Sandhu, the director of the Reimagining the Economy initiative at Harvard Kennedy School, tells of the tens of thousands of Indian students who rose up and ultimately helped force out the education minister. For decades, India’s young people have done their bit, entering a brutally competitive education system from school right through to university, in return for the promise of a good job. Now that jobs are not flowing so freely, they’ve had enough. They feel they have done their bit but been let down by the system that promised them a return. The deal has been broken, and a whole generation is seeking democratic accountability.
In Victoria, where we have just seen a leadership change and the ALP government tanking in the polls, Samaras tells a similar story. The Victorian ALP’s collapse, he says, is a delayed reckoning from communities that felt broken by lockdowns and ignored by – and billed for – the recovery. It is striking how little we talk about the Covid-19 pandemic, almost like it didn’t happen. But the impact continues, especially for those hardest hit. Leaders need to see and act on that, with care. It’s not all about bridges and roads. They sweep people and issues under the carpet at their peril.
Another focus has been Palestine and the atrocities in the West Bank – with Mary Robinson and her fellow Elders (Helen Clark, Graça Machel and Hina Jilani) just back from a visit. They say: “The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu aims to make Palestine disappear physically, economically, culturally and politically.”
Next Thursday, we will kick off our annual fundraising campaign. Asking readers for money is never the easiest part of this work, but it is an honest one. Without your help, P&I cannot operate.
This year, we are focusing on increasing the number of regular financial donors, to give us the stability to plan and improve, but more on that next week.
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Catriona Jackson is the Chief Executive and Editor of Pearls and Irritations.